Healing & Dealing with Scars

One of the best ways to limit scarring
is by preventing infection
immediately after surgery. Many
patients are sent home from the
hospital with drains attached to
their incisions that remove excess
blood and lymph fluid from the site.
After these are taken off a few
days later, patients need to keep the
wound as clean as possible as it
continues to heal and carefully
follow doctor's orders regarding
bandage changes.

Other scar-reducing techniques
include lightly stretching and
massaging the scar area daily
during the first year, when most
healing occurs. Known by therapists
 as transverse friction massage,
it involves gently manipulating
the skin perpendicularly above and
below the incision, from the collar bone to the bottom of the ribcage,
and from the breastbone to under the armpits.

Since the implications of scarring aren't only cosmetic — pain and
tightness can also result — professionals are sometimes needed to
help ease the patient's scar tissue in to a healthier healing pattern.
Using vigorous, deep and soft-tissue massage, physical therapists
may help relieve the pain and feelings of constriction. Alternative
therapies can include yoga, which involves deep breathing and
whole-body stretches, and also acupuncture, which uses thin needles
inserted just below the skin in certain
areas to relieve pain.