Julie's WLS Journey
Incision pictures

Date

Weight

Picture

Detail

April 17, 2003
10 days after surgery.
Staples still in.

The bulb and line you see coming from the bottom of the incision is a Jackson-Pratt (JP) drain.  I emptied it of fluid (usually between 2 and 10 ccs) twice a day.

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link

April 24, 2003
16 days after surgery

Staples out!  The only scabs left are where the drain is (at the bottom); my belly button is not shown, but it's about an inch below the picture.  I'd been using "Seriously Sensitive" Lubraderm lotion on the scar, to reduce the flaky skin.  As soon as the wounds are completely closed I'll begin using Mederma to reduce the scarring.

I'd begun eating puree a week before and my blood sugars were back up, so I resumed taking my diabetic medication on the 24th.

I'm taking these pictures myself, so the contortions I have to do to get the camera far enough away from my body also makes my stomach stick out unnaturally in the photos.  When I'm standing straight up my tummy isn't as bulbous.  ;)

273

May 6, 2003
29 days after surgery

For a few days after the staples were out the area where the JP drain had been began to drain on it's own out of the small wound there.  Eventually, that stopped (thankfully, because it was messy to take care of!).

I've been using the Mederma, although not quite as faithfully as I should because it makes my skin itch (which means it's healing).  The scar is definitely lighter in color.

Just call me Zipperbelly!  :)

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