I Used A Great Scar Cream Called Mederma...

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page Last Updated: June 8, 2025

I just received a great, often-overlooked question from Tim who asks, "Hey Adam - I just saw the pictures of your chest scar after heart surgery. I'm curious to know... Did you use any special creams or gels to assist in the incision healing?"

My Chest Scar After Surgery
The answer to that question is a definite "Yes!" I used a product called Mederma. The gel is an over-the-counter product that does not require a prescription. You can purchase Mederma at most pharmacies. If you are interested, sometime they have a $2 off coupon at the Mederma website.
Mederma Gel For Chest Scar Treatment After Open Heart Surgery

However, please make sure that you only use Mederma as directed. Do not use Mederma right away. I think you need to wait two weeks after your surgery. And, I made sure it was okay with my surgeon, before I started using it. My surgeon, Dr. Vaughn Starnes, looked at the Mederma ingredient listing on the package and said, "This looks pretty good. Go ahead and try it out!"

Scar After Heart Surgery

As you can see in the picture above, my scar has really faded over the year. I can barely see it these days.

Related Links:

Keep on tickin!
Adam

Written by Adam Pick
Patient & Website Founder

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

Follow 450K

Comments

New Posts From Our Community

A B - Heart Valve Patient

A B from
Location not provided

My name is Andrew, and at 25 years old, I recently...

Meet A
Ana Brusso - Heart Valve Patient

Ana Brusso from
Palm Dessert, California

With everything that I was going through in September I forgot...

Meet Ana
William Rowe - Heart Valve Patient

William Rowe from
Richmond, United Kingdom

Would like to chat with patients having had mitral valve repair...

Meet William

Newest Community Post

A B - Heart Valve Patient

A B from
Location not provided

My name is Andrew, and at 25 years old, I recently...

Meet A
Find Heart Valve Surgeons

Find Heart Valve Surgeons

Search 1,500 patient-recommended surgeons

Adam's Video Library

Adam's Video Library

Learn about heart valve surgery and patient success stories at Adam's video library.

Surgeon Spotlight

Dr. Chiu is a leading heart valve surgeon that has performed hundreds of heart valve operations that include minimally-invasive techniques.