scar question

Hi
I joined this group to get info for my mother in law, hope that is OK. She's 75(ish) and was experiencing dizziness, checked herself into the hospital on Thursday and by Sunday was sporting a new pacemaker.

Apparently although her BP is high and she's been on a medication for that, her heart rate was in the low 50s and in the 40s when she stood. So they decided that the pm was the way to go.

She's still having spells of lightheadedness, five days later, but the main odd thing (to me, what do I know, maybe?) is that when they removed the gigantic gauze bandage, they replaced it with what I can only describe as a giant piece of plastic tape. I understand they want to keep the area dry if she showers, but surely there are other ways to accomplish this without turning it into a giant ripoff event when she has to have this removed?

Which will be tomorrow, and brings me to my next point. I don't like the way it looks. Of course it has some lovely shades of yellow because she's still painted with the betadine from surgery, but the incision itself is raised and pink. OK, so it's only been five days, you say? But the rest of the skin around it looks very red to me. She says it is hives, but I think it looks more like red streaks, which I find alarming.

Any advice on what a five-day old incision should look like? We're going to the surgeon tomorrow. Oh, and they also added a beta blocker in addition to her other BP med, since her BP was still high after the PM went in.

Thanks for any thoughts.

3 Comments

streaks

by Tracey_E - 2009-09-17 09:09:21

Streaks are always a reason to have it looked at by a professional. Hopefully it's nothing, but if it's an infection you want to nip it in the bud.

If she's still having dizzy spells, they may need to adjust her settings. It's normal for it to take a few tries to get it just right for our individual needs.

thank you!

by janev115 - 2009-09-18 06:09:17

Thank you both, we went to the surgeon and he said it looked fine, the redness is from being 'beat up' according to him, but he did remove that awful adhesive (it stuck everywhere, even to the wound, who in the world invented that?) and put gauze on for two more days, told her then she can get it wet.

They disabled the pm and said her HR was at 41 without it and told her that it's working perfectly well. When she asked why she feels lightheaded in the morning and has a headache, she was told to see her cardiologist. So we will do that. She's also worried about medication interactions but I guess the surgeons really only care about if their job is well done.

Jenny, I agree with your doctor. My son had brain surgery at 9 years old and had a light dressing on in the recovery room, but the doctor came and took it off and left it open. Also better for the surrounding skin, all that adhesive is really uncomfortable and who needs bandages ripped off of fresh wounds every couple of days?

scar

by jeny - 2009-09-18 06:09:48

Hi janev115

hope your mother-in-law is feeling better. The only thing that was used to cover my scar was a waterproof spray!
The line was raised and pink at the time, but very clean. I was not allowed to get the area wet, if i did i had to make sure the area was dried properly. I wore very loose clothing and nothing at night! and i have to be honest but it looked amazing after three days! I think the 'old fashioned method' of leaving it open works the best!

take care jenny

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Member Quotes

I finished 29th in London in 2 hours 20 minutes 30 seconds which is my fastest with or without a device so clearly it didn’t slow me down ! I had no problems apart from some slight chaffing on my scar - more Vaseline next time.