Aloha! Now, Sunblock Your Chest Scar Incision!
One of my readers / friends, Taylor Browning, is traveling to Hawaii for a vacation with his wife Michelle. (If you want to learn about an amazing recovery from aortic valve / root replacement, click to read Taylor’s inspiring heart surgery recovery.)
That said, Taylor just asked me about taking care of his chest incision in the hot, sunny and tropical weather of Hawaii after heart surgery. Specifically, Taylor noted in his email, “I plan on applying some heavy-duty sunscreen to the incision scar itself but wanted to see what you did given your proximity to the beach!”
First off, I’m jealous. I need a vacation!!! “CAN I COME TAYLOR?” 
Second, here’s a picture of me ten months after my double heart valve replacement surgery.
Robyn (my wife) and I were lucky to celebrate my challenged heart valve surgery recovery in Hawaii as well.
If you want to see how well a chest scar can heal, here is a picture of me one week after surgery. Can you believe how much my sternotomy scar healed in just ten months?
Anyways… Back to Taylor’s question.
So you know, I did exactly what Taylor suggested. I used a very, very, very, very strong sunblock on my chest scar - it was an SPF of 45.
But… Please, please, please use sunblock all over your body, not just your incision.
The Hawaiian sun is dangerous - both for the short- and long-term.
I hope this helps with taking care of your chest scar after heart surgery.
Keep on tickin!
Adam Pick is the author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient. This special book was designed to help patients and caregivers better understand the realities of heart valve surgery (heart valve replacement and heart valve repair), to minimize patient stress and to enhance the patient’s recovery. To learn more about Adam’s heart valve surgery book, click here.
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January 23rd, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Hello, Adam
Do your sternum wires ever bother you?
I never would have thought the incision would heal that quickly! That’s terrific!
Best regards, Kathy Mccain
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Hi Kathy,
Whoops. Maybe I wasn’t clear above…
So you know, there is a fundamental difference between scar healing and sternum recovery.
While my scar healed incredibly well, I had several issues / pain related to my sternum.
Even today, two years after surgery, my sternum can get agitated. However, it’s come alonnnnnnnnnnnnng way from the early days of recovery.
Here is another blog about Broken Sternum Recovery.
Keep on tickin,
Adam