Scar tissue

Hi, i was just wondering::

I am a 15 year old female who had a PM implanted 6 months ago. As with most females, my surgeon implanted it under my left armpit. I have one 2 inch scar directly under my armpit, and one 1cm scar on my upper chest.

My question is about scar tissue,, I know that scar tissue is supposed to be numb, which the one under my arm is, but the one on my chest is not,, is that because it is so small?

Also, i have quite a bit of skin that is numb on the underside of my actual arm,, not particularly close to my scar, is that normal?

And finally, will the numbness be there for ever, or will i get the feeling back eventually?

Thanks,
Sian x

5 Comments

thanks

by SianXx - 2009-08-10 04:08:24

Tracey::
Yeah, well I supose the good thing is that I am not Pacemaker dependant. It is not working all the time, only when I need it, and so I shouldnt need a replacement for another 20 years minimum.

Jimmy::
My arm was also very sore and fragile for the first month, as you can expect considering where the scar is. It will get better :) The only two things I can't do now is reach up high for things, and carry heavy objects for any length of time.

Numbness

by jimmy412 - 2009-08-10 04:08:35

I am not female, but since I had my surgery a month ago, my arm is very sore and numb since I have been trying to use it a little more. It hurts when I drive the most and have to switch hands. I have noticed it being more painful at the site as well as down my arm and I only have 1 three inch incision. Now that my swelling when down some, I can feel the pacemaker is almost under my armpit and not farther in like most people I have seen. I just figured it was because of the rare heart conditon I have and the way the wire is routed different. But I think most people have numbness, and I hope yours gets better with your age.

numbness

by Tracey_E - 2009-08-10 04:08:53

I also have quite a bit of numbness around my larger scar but none whatsoever around the little one. I've also got a numb spot near the big one, sort of off to the side of it. Only time will tell if it gets better or not, there's no predicting. It all depends on how many nerves they hit. It's only been six months, you should still see some improvement. I've had three replacements now, all through the same incision. The numbness got better over a year or so after the first two, but has stayed pretty darned numb since the last one. After three years I assume this is as good as it's gonna get.

armpit?

by patio - 2009-08-10 08:08:35

I'm a female and I didn't have any thing under my armpit? Is that the way they do it for other females?
Mine looks like my husbands PM site, on the left side of my chest, so your saying they went though your armpit?

placement

by Tracey_E - 2009-08-10 09:08:06

Patio,
In the armpit or behind the breast is not rare, but it's not common yet, either. Some doctors, especially with young female patients, try to get creative to hide the pm so there's no lump or visible scar. The majority of docs just put it under the collarbone without giving it a thought, that's the simplest and easiest to heal from. Mine was buried behind the breast 15 yrs ago, which was virtually unheard of. There are a handful of ladies here with similar placement but the vast majority have it just where yours is.

Sian,
20 years would be awesome!! The most I've heard of is 12 or 13. My record is 7, that was on my first one and it was only expected to last 5 so I was thrilled. I have a bad lead that still works fine but has been draining my battery so I haven't had much life out of the last few. I'm going to quit procrastinating and get the new lead next time so I can get some nice long battery life again!

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