It’s human nature. We like to look good, right?

That said, one of the common questions I get from patients and caregivers is, “Is there any special cream to heal scars from heart surgery?”

The answer is…. yes, yes, yes. In fact, there are a number of different creams, gels, ointments, and vitamin oils you can apply to help heal scars from all types of heart surgery – open heart, minimally invasive, etc.

In my case, I had aortic and pulmonary valve replacements ^[1]. Thus, I needed to have my sternum cracked which resulted in two things – pain and a nine inch scar.

My Open Heart Surgery Picture
One Week After Heart Surgery

Two weeks after surgery, I was walking through Rite-Aid wondering, “Hmmmm. Might there be a gel or cream to heal scars from heart surgery?” And then… Right before my eyes… I saw a product called Mederma ^[2].

Before I used the product, I talked my surgeon, Vaughn Starnes (USC Medical Center) ^[3], about Mederma. He looked at the label and said, “This looks pretty good. Go ahead and try it.”

For the next two months, I used Mederma consistently (not religiously) – about once or twice a day. I have to admit the results have been amazing. Here are some pictures that illustrate the healing of my scar during the past 20 months.

Here is a picture of me 10 months after heart valve surgery in Hawaii:

Here is a picture of me 20 months after heart valve surgery on my honeymoon in Fiji:

Pretty amazing pictures, right? You can barely even see the scar on my chest following open heart surgery.

Personally, I don’t think this tremendous healing has been solely because of Mederma. I had a great surgeon and an incredible medical team. However, I do believe that Mederma ^[2] did have a very positive impact on my chest scar following heart surgery.

I hope this helps answer the question, “Is there any cream to heal scars after heart surgery?”

Keep on tickin!