How to take care of FUT donor cut after surgery?

[n00b]

Hi all,

 

I had a FUT surgery 10 days ago and the donor cut is really long. It extends beyond ear to ear, almost into temple areas. What can i do or shouldn't do to take care of it so that the scar is as thin as possible?

 

Thanks in advance...

Edited March 7, 2016 by n00b

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I always instruct the patient do not hyper flex the neck for the first few months following the procedure. This means do not try to touch your chin to your chest. Patients have a tendency to want to do this after a short period of time to test out the area and see if it still hurts. This will only contract your trapezious (traps) muscles in your neck and potentially widen the scar. Even after the sutures are removed there is still internal healing that take s several months.

[n00b]

Thanks a lot for your response Doc

 

I have two followup questions:

 

1) If I understand correctly, restricting chin to chest movement would help the scar at the lower back head to not stretch. What other movements should I restrict to prevent the scar at the sides of my head from stretching. I have a huge cut that extends beyond ear to ear.

 

2) How long would you advice one to restrict these movements?

[Garageland]

noob,

 

What I have learned over the years is that different clinics have different advice when it comes to post op healing from some saying you can go back to regular exercise and weight lifting after the sutures/staples come out to other clinics requesting patients avoid weight lifting for 3 or ideally 6 months.

 

We fall into the latter of this as I have personally spoken to patients that admitted they went back to the gym lifting too soon and as a result the scar wider than it should have been. Now we have no actual evidence that the scar might have healed this way regardless but it makes sense to give yourself the best possible chance of a thin scar.

[chris39]

noob,

 

What I have learned over the years is that different clinics have different advice when it comes to post op healing

 

Absolutely .

 

I was told by my surgeon to leave it for at least 2 months before heavy lifting , but the bottom line is that no one really knows at what point the incision line can withstand excessive tension without scar spread.Hence the wide variance in advice given . Apparently , tensile strength of a wound reaches about 70% at 6 months .

 

I'm just approaching 3 months post op , and debating whether to leave it another 3 months before any heavier lifting .

 

As I also dramatically cut down on smoking post op , combined with less exercise , I've put on 12 pounds in a couple of months . Previously , my weight never varied by more than a couple of pound .Ah well - just have to work harder when I do start the weights again .

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I generally suggest to my patients to avoid the chin to chest motion of 4-6 months post-op. I do believe that if the patient is aware and careful some weight lifting can be resumed after a few weeks. I think that lighter weight higher repetition weight lifting is safer and a more effective way to stay toned and maintain size compared to heavy weight lifting that will eventually destroy the joints.

[n00b]

Thanks for your inputs Dr. Glenn, Garageland & chris39.

 

I have a question on the precautions one should take while sleeping. what sleeping position is advisable when 1) staples are on, 2) the first 1-2 months, and 3) the next 4-6 months?

 

I am a side sleeper by nature. I am worried whether sleeping straight/sideways would put pressure on the scar and make it stretch.

Another option would be to angle your upper half of the body at 30-45 degrees and use a neck pillow to sleep. But I am worried whether this would cause the chin to chest tilt motion that one is asked to restrict.

[mav23100gunther]

Thanks for your inputs Dr. Glenn, Garageland & chris39.

 

I have a question on the precautions one should take while sleeping. what sleeping position is advisable when 1) staples are on, 2) the first 1-2 months, and 3) the next 4-6 months?

 

I am a side sleeper by nature. I am worried whether sleeping straight/sideways would put pressure on the scar and make it stretch.

Another option would be to angle your upper half of the body at 30-45 degrees and use a neck pillow to sleep. But I am worried whether this would cause the chin to chest tilt motion that one is asked to restrict.

 

I think that you are overthinking this, and therefore will over-engineer. I respect that you are being overly-cautious, but don't let it dictate how you sleep. I think sleeping in any position could put the scar at risk unless you strap yourself down. Sleeping tilted with a neck pillow for 6 months may just be the best option, but I also think it is just way too extreme. At that point you may as well also walk around with a neck brace for the next 6 months, or not touch the recipient area at all, or shampoo with baby shampoo or keep on spraying the ATP solution. Just follow the doctor instructions and any advice dished out by other member, and don't worry/think about the other things like sleeping.

[chris39]

Thanks for your inputs Dr. Glenn, Garageland & chris39.

 

I have a question on the precautions one should take while sleeping. what sleeping position is advisable when 1) staples are on, 2) the first 1-2 months, and 3) the next 4-6 months?

 

I am a side sleeper by nature. I am worried whether sleeping straight/sideways would put pressure on the scar and make it stretch.

Another option would be to angle your upper half of the body at 30-45 degrees and use a neck pillow to sleep. But I am worried whether this would cause the chin to chest tilt motion that one is asked to restrict.

 

I slept on my back for 14 days prior to the staple removal - just used a neck pillow . After the staples were removed , I still use the neck pillow , but will sleep on my side or back . I wouldn't think there is any risk of scar stretch based on sleeping position.