steroids for scar tissue

[rowdy99]

Can anyone give me any info on having steroids injected to break up builtup scar tissue?

I'm 9 months post op and my PS figures I have excessive scar tissue built up under both sides of my chest. 

any knowledge on the process would be very helpful...   thanks in advance.

[dcvet]

its pretty simple really.  You basically see the PS and he injects a steroid such as kenalog directly into the scar tissue.  The fact that it's injected into the scar tissue, is in a water based suspension and not attached to an ester makes it fast acting and does not migrate to other areas of yoiur body.  This means that there is little to no adverse effects from the shot except for assisting in breaking down the tissue. However, side effects can occur if too much is used and it is injected into other tissue. 

I had a kenalog shot about 4 weeks ago and the scar tissue is about 25% the size it was before getting the injection. 

[PaulSW]

dcvet

How long did you wait before having the injections?

[dcvet]

I had the surgery in october and the kenalog shots in March - so about 5 months.  They normally do not want to do the injections too early as a lot of tissue changes can occur in the first several months.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Absolutely right!  Give Mother Nature a chance to heal (you can help her with a little massage).  She will usually do a decent job if you give her enough time and aren't jumping the gun by being too anxious.

Usually I will begin a series of steroid injections (ie Kenalog) at 5-6 months post-op if bothersome scar tissue persists -- rarely sooner.

Dr Jacobs

[PaulSW]

Thanks for the info

[hatemynips]

How long after surgery should you start massaging?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Massage after surgery -- gently at first (and use a skin cream when you massage to lubricate the skin) -- can begin anytime after 4-6 weeks post op.  First check with your surgeon to see if that is OK.

Dr Jacobs

[The_G0rn]

Question:

1 - Should you massage even if you DONT have scar tissue..i.e. is there any benefit to the healing process by massaging?
2 - How do you know if your nipples are ready for massage? Mine are still pretty sad looking from surgery and very tender. I'm at 3 weeks PO

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

In general, I would not massage until about 4-6 weeks post op -- and then only if there appears to be some irregularity in your chest contours.  If the contours are acceptable, then jut let the body heal naturally.

Dr Jacobs