post-surgery pictures?

[anissa]

I'm wondering if you guys can point me to pictures of your translab stitches/staples/wound?  I hope this isn't a weird request, just my version of preparing myself.   

[Vivian B.]

Hi Anissa,

If yu go on Utube you can see the whole procedure live. I have to say, as scared as I am about the surgery, these surgeons have magical hands.

Vivian 

[Kim Zingale]

Hi Anissa,

I had retrosigmoid, but if you're interested in my incision, you can see it over on my blog at http://adventureswithmanny.blogspot.com/2009/02/back-of-my-head.html

It seems like each surgeon does the incision a little bit differently, so it might be good to ask your surgeon exactly how s/he plans to do it.

Kim

[lori67]

Anissa,

I'll have to see if I can find my pictures to send you.  I think they were taken with my cell phone, so that's probably where they still are.  I had translab and my incision looked like an upside down question mark behind and over my ear.  You can't even see the scar now.

I will suggest that you hold off on watching the You Tube thing until AFTER your surgery.  Sometimes ignorance is bliss and I think some people might be more upset watching it before they have it done.  I am a nurse and have watched many surgeries, and I know I didn't want to watch this one before hand.  Just a suggestion.

I asked my surgeon before hand where he'd be cutting and how much hair he'd be removing.  That came in handy - I was able to try to explain this to the lady who cuts my hair so we could do a little damage control.

Lori

[anissa]

Yeah, I think I'll have to hold off on watching the video, heh.  I'm more interested in what I'm going to find on my head when I wake up!

[anissa]

Kim, that is a nice looking incision!  It goes down farther than I imagined though.  That actually made me feel a little less scared, thanks!

[leapyrtwins]

You know, somewhere on this forum is a thread with pictures of our scars - but I've searched and can't find it 

Here's my retrosigmoid scar though - about 6 days post op.  It flattened out and faded very quickly.



Jan

[EJTampa]

It's out there somewhere, but here it is again
 

 
Ernie

[JerseyGirl2]

Anissa,

I had a translab with dissolvable stitches, but no pictures! I think we translabbers are pretty fortunate with regard to incision size. Mine followed the outline of my ear  -- didn't even go up too terribly high above it -- and was really quite unobstrusive from day one. The scar is totally invisible now, a little over a year later. Hair loss wasn't bad either. I had my BAHA implant done at the same time and lost more hair (and even that wasn't bad) to that procedure than to the translab. One of the very first folks I visited upon my return home was my hairdresser -- I wanted her to see the implant and everything else so she would be prepared!

I admire anyone who can watch a video of this (or any) surgery -- either before or after they've had it themselves. I just don't believe I could handle it. Now that I think about it, I got a little queasy watching the childbirth movies during my Lamaze classes ....

You'll be fine, and I think most people would agree that once you get to the point after surgery that you're worried about how your hair looks ... you're definitely on the road to recovery!

Catherine (Jersey Girl 2)

[QRM]

Annisa they all look pretty grim, in most cases they are surprisingly pain free, as no muscle or moving bits was cut. Within a month or two the cut is just a fine line can hardly see mine now. We should have a tread just for scar photos, maybe this thread will become one. This photo was a week after translab surgery, I don't know why some use staples as in Ernies case, my tummy cut was held together with those dissolving stitches. Maybe those in know may enlighten us.

Rick

[Kaybo]

WOW!  My translab scar looked NOTHING like Rick's!!  Of course I have no pictures - that was a LONG time ago (I don't know if they even had film back then! JK).  My doc specifically told me NOT to cut my hair.  They used theis SUPER-DUPER gel stuff to hold my hair back and then the incision/scar is maybe 1/2-1 inch (at most) from my ear and just follows my ear line. 

K

[JerseyGirl2]

I'm with Kay on this -- my translab was much, much closer to my ear, and the incision would not have been visible in a straight-on-the-ear focused picture like Rick's.

Catherine (JerseyGirl2)

[kathylittlejohncobb]

Hi,
Yikes!  Your pix are impressive!  Ouch!
My incision/scar (retrosigmoid) was not as dramatic as these, though also long and curved. 
I have alot of hair, so they flipped as much over my head as possible & shaved only the area necessary.  Days later, when finally (!) able to have my hair washed (which was scary, believe it or not!) & back to normal, the surgery area was not even visible to others.
Don't let the pix scare you...!  It's not as bad as it looks, we promise!
Kathy   

[moe]

My translab incision was neatly behind my ear. Must be a guy thing that it is farther away away from their ears. You may notice that your ear sticks out a little more on the affected side, but not noticeable.
Hang in there- this will all be over soon
Maureen

[texsooner]

Here's my retrosig incision.





Patrick