“Sensitive Keloid Scars? Sternal Wire Bumps?” Asks Josh

Hi Josh,

my mum has the keloid scarring. Her doctor is injecting cortisone into it once a month for 6 months to take it down, with advice from a dermatologist. You could run this past your doctor as mum says it has helped a lot with the discomfort.

Give it time. I had the exact same thing a few months back (I had my surgery last Sept. 24), and it’s gone down steadily with no intervention at all. Be patient and it should heal just fine with time.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Laura

Josh, I had the problem with the wires after surgery. My one year old daughter liked to sit on my chest while I lay on the floor, and jump up and down on my chest. This was three years after my surgery. I visited with my heart surgeon, and he said because the wires were twisted together on the inside of my chest, that it would be a very painful operation to remove them. Because of what he said, I gave up on getting the wires out. I have had them for almost 35 years now, and they still bother me if i get hit lightly on them. But, for the most part, I just learned to live with them.

Hypertropic scars are due to an over production of collagen.
I have had 2 surgeries now.I had a minimallly invasive aortic valve replacement in 2006 and an annular enlargement and ascending aortic graft done in April. I have a wide hypertrophic scar from the first surgery and once again my body rejected the sutures and the sternotomy scar is rising as well.
Both the surgeon and cardiologist knew that my body responds that way but they said that was something to be dealt with later. The 3 scars from the drainage tubes are awful.(Both doctors have wives that are plastic surgeons!)
I was told to leave things alone for a year and then a plastic surgeon can remove the scar and inject cortisone into the next to see if it helps. Both doctors told me to wait as the cortisone injections can lead to a sternal infection.
The hypertrophic scar will continue to grow for 9 months and then it will begin to flaten out and eventually it will turn the same color as your skin. You might want to wait until then to see how it looks.The height and redness and pain will eventually subside. I basically look like a victim of a violent crime right now but I am still not sure that I wont just go ahead and live with it. The odds are that my body will respond the same way again even with intervention. I keep thinking that they will find new procedures to use in the future.
I found that the more I protect the scar from irritation the less it grows. I was also told to keep it away from sunlight because sun exposure
will bring on the inflammitory process and will lead to more collagen production.
A dermitologist did give me a cortisone cream that helps to keep the inflamation down if I need it.
I did try the silicone sheeting and it did not make a difference.
I hope this helps. None of what we go through is easy but at least we are back on our feet and moving without being out of breath!

Hi Josh
I have had two small operations to remove the sternal wires. The first one was to remove the top three where the I could also feel the wire through the skin and the second was to remove the bottom three where one of the wires was causing a pain to shoot down my left arm. I should have had all one the first time but I think my surgeon was trying not to open up too much of the scar again.
The operations were small and when I had the second one I didn’t even stay in over night. I was uncomfortable for a short time after that but pain killers helped. I was only off work for a week.
I am pleased that I have had them removed as now I am back exercising and living life the way I would want to. Its hard to go back into hospital but it’s worth it!
Good luck
Katie

Hi Josh,

I saw your posting and wanted to let you know that I did have an issue with my wires when I had surgery as well. They protruded out for a long period of time and actually hurt when the weather was cold! I had them removed 3 years after surgery………it was a simple procedure, although surgery is never fun! The good news is that the tough surgery is over, this one is pretty simple.

Gool luck!

Hi Josh,

My surgery was 7 months ago and while I don’t have problems with the wires I do have pain from several areas of the scar that have raised a good bit. My dermatologist said to give it a year before considering any type of treatment. She did however suggest I use ‘Mepiform Scar Dressing’ bandages. They are expensive, around $35.00 for the sheet I bought from her. But that one sheet, which I could cut in strips, lasted me 4 weeks. You can wear the bandage for 1 week at a time. It did seem to help a good bit and the scar wasn’t nearly as bothersome when the dressing was on. I’ve been out of it for a few weeks and can tell the difference. I plan on getting some more and wearing it again. Good luck, I hope you find a solution that gives you comfort.

I have the same scar tisuue issue in the same place at the bottom if the scar it was an open wound on my 1 month visit to my surgen he looked at it probed for wire and did not find anything I also had him look at it on my 3 and 6 month visit he did not seam to think there was a problem. I would like to read any answers you come up with.

Hi Josh,
I had a sternotomy with a mechanical aortic valve replacement 13 months ago. I have had no problem with the wires other than the fact that my scar bothers me a little with weather changes. But, that is something I can live with. However, the bottom of my scar began to Keloid. I was sent to a plastic surgeon. I wore Cordan tape for three months–10 hours a day. Part of the Keloid flattened,but part did not. About 10 days ago, my doctor injected the keloid with cortesione. It is looking betther and beginning to flatten out. I am very pleased with the results. I waited almost 10 months before I sought treatment.

I am 9 months post op. I have a small area of keloid at the very top of my scar, which has faded some, the entire scar is sensitive still though. I am very thin and can feel every wire in my sternum and they cause me a lot of discomfort. I spoke with my PCP about having the wires removed and she suggested we try the medication Neurontin first, which is to help with nerve pain. I know of people who have had wires removed and have had great relief, but I do think you have to be a year out from the initial surgery to ensure everything has healed properly.

(this comment is the completed one)
Josh,
I had my third sternotomy for a pulmonary artery replacement June of 2008. I have had no problems with keloid scarring, but I did have six bumps that stuck out (my sternal wires) and the bottom sternal wire caused my bone to lump and stick up as well. I had an uncomfortable pain/feeling whenever the weather changed, I picked up heavy things or pushed a mower or vacuum. I also couldn’t comfortably sleep on my side or put any pressure on the bumps. My pain from the sternal wires varied from an achy chest to a burning sensation when I turned wrong or lifted. I have just had my sternal wires taken out Jan 05 and am recovering fairly well. I didn’t even have to stay overnight. I went in at 8am, had surgery at 10am and was out of the hospital by 3pm. I have six little 1/4 to 1/2 inch incisions. They gave me vicodine for the pain that I had to stop using on the night of the 6th due to it making me sick. I’ve been on advil and tylenol and managing well. The pain from sternal wires is annoying enough to do something about, the pain after surgery is more superficial, like the pang of a papercut that hurts immidiately, but not very deeply. Nothing like open heart and the pain of healing from a sternotomy in the first place. I’m very excited to see my new sternum, I know that sounds funny, but being a girl, my scar does affect the way I feel about myself, and having the bumps from the wires didn’t help. My sternum is already smoother, and I’m excited to see it healed.
Jessica

I also have this scar..but the entire scar has formed a keloid..I also experience the pain from the wires and thought it was something to have to live with..So if you are able to get it fixed it would be great if you can share the out come..Because like yourself..it is very uncomfortable to live with and I can’t imagine having to live with this forever..

Josh, I had double bypass in October and have developed an Keloid scar at the bottom of my incision. This is very painful and itches. I brought to the attention of my cardioglogist, who ask me to bring to the attention of my medical Dr who ask me to consult with my surgeon. It seemed like I was fighting congress just to get someone to look at it. The Keloid is painful, especially when rising from a sitting position. My job requires sitting at least 10 hrs per day. These Dr’s basically just say live with it. This is causing stress with me not to mention the frustration I feel with the Dr’s. Any suggestions? Does cortizone shots painful and do they really help? Before I had the bypass surgery, I had to have a pacemaker inserted which is really bothersome. I read where some people say I feel like a new person after having heart surgery, but so far I don’t feel any better. I felt better before surgery. What’s wrong with this picture?

I am two yrs. post op. I still have a lump about an inch long. I haven’t had it checked yet, but it is bothersome.

Hello i had open heart surgery in Dec. of 09. I have been having lots of problems with my wires where they are bout to pop out threw my skin. I went and seen a doctor today and he said I have to go into the hospital on the 18th of March. He said i will have to be in there for a couple of days so they can get my coumiden level back to where its suppose to be. I am a little nervous because im not sure how they will take the wires out. If anyone could tell me how it is done before i go in that would maybe make me feel more comfortable. thank you.

Curtis, I had my wires removed in December ’09, my OHS was 12/08. I am not on coumadin, so I did not have that worry. The wire removal is a fairly simple surgery. I was put under general anaesthesia, and a few small inscisions were made over the original scar. They just snip the wires pull and pull them out and suture the skin back up. The skin and tissue in the area were sore, but the bone and nerve pain I’d had were gone. I was uncomfortable for a couple of weeks, but I had so much pain from my wires that I felt immediate relief. I was only in the hospital for a few hours for the procedure. I had all of my wires removed and so glad I did. Good luck, I hope this gives you as much relief as I have had.

All,
I was born with mild aortic stenosis in 1979; in 1994 I had an operation to repair the bicuspid valve, which went well. I was 14 at the time so it was a scary time for me back then.

In 2001 I had a MAVR and post surgery the recovery went well, if not a little slow. I was 21 when I had the surgery so I was chomping at the bit to get back to full health.

I had never had a problem with sternal wires apart from when I got knocked or bumped directly on top of one, which can smart a little. Early 2005 I noticed that one of the middle wires had become swollen and tender to touch, this was the start of the wire working it’s way out unfortunately. It took about 3 months and finally whilst at work the wire actually came through the skin and was clearly visible. To be honest when it came out it was much less painful and sore however the wife nearly passed out when i showed her. lol

I contacted my surgeon and they rushed me in the same day, now the procedure it’s self was simple, however due to the warfrin I had to wait three days for my INR to 2.0 so they would let me out and take me off heparin via IV.

Dec 2009 I noticed another wire doing the same as I had seen back in 2005, so rather than wait for the thing to pop out I went to see my surgeon who put me on the waiting list. After a chat with my surgeon we agreed to make this the last of the problematic wires and remove the lot. 5 in total.

Unfortunately another 7 days in hospital waiting for the INR to get low enough to operate and then high enough (thin) enough to leave safely.

All wires out now it feels a lot better I must say.

Happy ticking
Tony

Lisa, what kind of surgeon did your wire removal? i can not find one that will remove mine. i had heart bypass 5 yrs ago and my wires are still bothering me.
how long were your wires in?

My heart surgeon removed the wires almost one year after my OHS. I have heard of people having them out ten years post op. Best to get in touch with your heart surgeon, if not, it would have to be a cardiothoracic surgeon.

Hi- I had an ascending aortic aneurysm and valve replacement 14 years ago- And I am just recently noticing pain from my sternum wires- I actually think that one of them has started to protrude from my skin a bit. Not to be gross or anything but I had thought it was a zit on my chest so I tried to pop it-but when all i got was a bloody mess in the shower I knew that something was not right. Which is why I am writing on this website now. I am definitely going to bring this issue up with my doctor next time I see him (in about a week). I had no idea that the wires could cause all of the issues that some of the people on this website are referring to(Ie pain from sitting hunched over a computer for 10 hours a day (Check), numbness (Check) , and trouble sleeping on my chest side (Check). I had thought it was just me – I am sure glad that i found this website tonight

Chad, one thing i would say is that you need to be so careful with regards to getting any sort of infection in the open wound. When my wire actually popped out that was my main concern. It is a pain in the bum but definitely push your surgeon to take action ASAP.
All the best
Tony
PS: I am now 2 weeks post op (5 wire removed) and for the first time in months have been able to wear my tight cycling jersey without pain from it pushing my skin onto my prominent wire. Anything tight on my chest pre op was just a nightmare.

Wanda,
My surgeon is a pediatrician but because i was born with aortic stenosis he has followed my progress through my life, so he has always been keen to make sure I have a good standard of living with having the condition from birth.
To be fair apart from managing warfrin my life is normal so far.
Tony

I had bypass also. After some months had passed, it felt like the wires were poking me. My doctor went back in and removed them. He told me this is quite common in diabetics, which I am. Since then, no problem except my entire sternal incision is one giant burning, itching keloid. I have had it injected with no results. Sometimes when it is really bad, I put on the cool aloe stuff they sell for sunburn and it gives temporary relief. I had several shoulder surgeries and also formed keloids but none are as bad as the 9 inch one on my chest. Good luck!

Yep, I have a couple of bumps however they don’t hurt. I am almost 10 months out and everything is well healed except for the discoloration on my leg. I kind of like the “bumps” They aren’t visible to others but I feel them. They remind me of how lucky I am to have survived the surgery and the complications. They are a bit weird when my grandchildren lean on them. I think I will keep them. I did buy some temporary tatoos to decorate my scar when I finally decide to expose it with a V neck dress. Life is good.

My daughter, Liz, who is now 19 had two open heart surgeries when she was much younger to repair a VSD and then a floppy piece of muscle in her heart. The second surgery happened when she was five- and in the first grade while they were practicing “stop, drop, and roll”, her wire protruded out of the skin. She had several of the wires removed then. She is very skinny and the wires have still been moving and giving her problems. She now feels some pain and we went and had an x-ray yesterday. One of the wires is open and feels like it is sticking out or into her. We don’t know what to do about this- Her keloid scar is till sensitive.

H Josh, i had open heart surgery for closure of ASD three years ago, but soon after my scar turned keloid. So i visited a dermatologist who gave me steroid injections..this flattened my scar however left me with bumps wthich I later found out were my sternal wires. I since had these removed which was a simple procedure..but I was told it wasn’t a common procedure after heart surgery – only done if wires were troublesome. I still have a keloid scar, but I guess this is something I’ll have to live with.

I am 5 weeks out of surgery (6XCABG plus Pace maker) and like you Josh, have keloid thing going on in the same place, gonna see the surgeon in 2 days… Im half expecting him to remove the cable there because it initially gave me problems in my incision. The staff was nervous about an infection so they put a PICC line in my bicep and gave me (at home with wife doing it) 1 hour of HEAVY antibiotics through IV, twice per day. Otherwise, Im doing pretty well.

I do experience light headedness lately too… Will have to discuss this with the docs too

Good luck Josh, Im VERY curious to see how they handle yours and will update on mine

Hi, I had triple bypass 2 1/2 years ago. It took me a year to feel well enough to get back to regular life and start excerising. As I excercised over the past 18 months I have felt burning, tingling, feeling like I was being stabbed with tiny knives all across my chest. Sometimes worse then others until a month ago. I was doing pushups and something “popped”. I crumbled into a ball to let the pain subside. My scar swelled up and was burning. I now can’t use my arms to reach out or lift anything with out the buning, kniving feeling. I went to see my Surgeon and he put me on pain meds and I went for xrays and catscan. I had broken one of my wires and another wire is sticking up and out! I feel like I am being sliced inside on my chest. I also have an area that has not healed properly near the broken wire so it may possibily need to have a plate put over it. My surgeon gave me choices. to remove all wires, to remove the wire that is sticking up, or wait 3 months to see if the pain goes away. I need my life back. I have young children, I need to get back to my life! I have read all the other replies that have been posted. Thanks for posting your experiences. It is helpful to know I am not imaging this pain and that I am not alone in this. I am sorry that you all have had to go through all that you have had to go through! I am so happy you are all well and that technology is there to help us live full lives! I will call my surgeon tomorrow and schedule my surgery to have the wires removed. I am hoping to be feeling better soon! I hope you all are feeling better and living life to the fullest!

Hello,

My husband is going into surgery tomorrow for some external wire removal.

He had open chest surgery about 12 years ago and for the past year he had been complaining about pain in his chest and his shoulders. He went on a diet and lost close to 60 pounds, we then started noticing a lump right over the top of his scar…we also thought it was a pimple so we left it alone…2 months later while working out he felt something pop and this thing we thought was a pimple started to turn green. He finally went to the doctor and they took some x-rays that showed that it was in fact sternal wire. Like I said he has surgery scheduled for tomorrow and we are hoping and praying that everything goes well. It has definitely helped to read all of your posts to have some sort of idea of how this is going to go.

Thanks everyone for the information.

Lili

Hi, I wrote on this blog 12/10/10. I had my sternal wires removed the end of december 2010! It is now August, I am feeling so much better and never realized how much discomfort they were causing in my day to day life! I am feeling so much better and hope this finds you all well too!!! I thnk it was worth having the wires removed. In my case, one had broken and another had a golfball size abcess around the wire that was sticking up! That was the one that was causing all my pain. I am living my life to the fullest and feeling great!

God Bless and thanks for sharing your stories!!
Jen

hi this is for the ladies have any of you had any problem wearing bras this causes so much pain and irritates my keloid scar also does anyone have pain under your breasts i had a thymectomy 1-2011 i have sternal wire as well the left side of my chest is so painful please help

My sternal wires did not hurt from my bra for everyday wear. However I believe my pain came from wearing sports bras and lots of excerising(jogging burpees etc) that pushed my skin against the wires and pulled the wire up so it was sticking out and caused a golfball size abcess. It felt like I was being sliced from the inside and was over a period of 18 months of excerising. From time to time, it was so painful I had to stop in the middle of working out. I though it was breaking threw scar tissue or something.
You could have nerve damage that could be causing your pain. I hope you are feeling better soon. It is aweful having a pain that you can’t get rid of!! Hope it sudsides soon!! Feel Better!

hi jen thanks for the info my neuro says my muscle enzymes are to high and i am not strong enough now to even consider having my sternal wires removed he also did mention about nerve damage also thanks keep in touch