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  • Lotion for Back, Mederma for incision

    Hi all-

    My doctor said I could use mederma(sp?) for the incision if I wanted to put anything on the incision. My mom kept telling me Vitamin E oil over and over again so when she asked the doctor in front of him he said no, which was a relief to me. What is mederma, has anyone used it? Is it a lotion/cream, or is it some type of strips?

    Also, this is a stupid question, but I was wondering can you just put regular lotion (lubriderm, jergens, etc) all over your back area except for your incision? I noticed my back in general is getting very, very dry and I'd like to rub some cream on it. I'm just not sure if we are supposed to or allowed to.


    Thanks!

    JenM
    Surgery date: June 8, 2010 with Dr. Boachie
    Thoracic curve: 55 degrees, corrected to 25 degrees
    Lumbar curve: 58 degrees, corrected to 27 degrees
    Posterior-only surgery, Levels T3-L3
    31 year old mother of 2 young kids

  • #2
    Mederma is used to minimize scars.

    Evelyn
    age 48
    80* thoracolumbar; 40* thoracic
    Reduced to ~16* thoracolumbar; ~0* thoracic
    Surgery 3/14/12 with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis, T4 to S1 with pelvic fixation
    Broken rods 12/1/19; scheduled for revision fusion L1-L3-4 with Dr. Lenke 2/4/2020
    Not "confused" anymore, but don't know how to change my username.

    Comment


    • #3
      That might take an awful lot of Mederma and it's pretty pricey stuff! The patches might be hard to keep in place if you're scooting in and out of bed a lot.

      As for the lotion, as long as your scar is healed I think it would be okay - especially if you're only using the lotion around the scar area. Maybe a gentle massage at the same time - that might feel nice!
      Julie - 51 yrs old

      Dx'd 1973 - 43* thoracic curve / rotation
      Wore Milwaukee brace 1973 - 1979
      Pre-surgery: 63* thoracic / 52* lumbar curves


      Surgeries: P - March 16, 2009 - Fused T3-S2 with pelvic fixation
      A -April 14, 2009 - Fused L5-S1
      Achieved +70% Correction
      Dr. Khaled Kebaish, (and team) Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore


      Standing x-ray
      New Spine 03/19/2009
      New Spine Lateral 03/19/2009

      Comment


      • #4
        Hey Jen, we used Mederma when my son had a scar on his forehead. The doctor recommended it and it worked great. The main ingredient is aloe and that's what it feels like, a liquidy gel. But it sinks right into the skin. It is pricey but might really help.
        Debra
        Age 45
        Pre - surgery Thoracic 69, Lumbar 48
        Post-surgery Thoracic 37, Lumbar 39 (unfused)
        Fused T4-T12
        Milwaukee braced, 11 years old to 15 yo
        Surgery Sept. 1st, 2010 Dr. Boachie

        Comment


        • #5
          I used Mederma on my scar. A little goes a long way so even though it is expensive it lasts a long time. It is like a clear gel, comes in a tube and you can get it at Walgreens or at any drugstore I imagine.
          May 2008 Fusion T4 - S1, Pre-op Curves T45, L70 (age 48). Unsuccessful surgery.

          March 18, 2010 (age 50). Revision with L3 Osteotomy, Replacement of hardware T11 - S1 , addition of bilateral pelvic fixation. Correction of sagittal imbalance and kyphosis.

          January 24, 2012 (age 52) Revision to repair pseudoarthrosis and 2 broken rods at L3/L4.

          Comment


          • #6
            Good to know about this product. I wonder, though, if aloe is the main ingredient, why not use plain aloe? (Having just returned from a health food store and noticed aloe products there - a lot cheaper than this one!)

            I guess one needs a helper to apply this stuff to scars in back, right? (Duh! Seeing as how it would take a helper to reach there even BEFORE surgery...)

            *sigh* Another of those things it's impossible to do alone.
            I wonder it those reach applicator things would work for this. Of course, there are a couple of problems - the price if it's wasted and also SEEING where to put it! I.e., not just reaching...
            Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
            Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
            main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
            Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

            Comment


            • #7
              I've used several tubes of Mederma--it didn't really seem to do much for mine. I think some have success with it. Janet
              Janet

              61 years old--57 for surgery

              Diagnosed in 1965 at age of 13--no brace
              Thoracic Curve: 96 degrees to 35 degrees
              Lumbar Curve: 63 degrees to 5 degrees
              Surgery with Dr. Lenke in St. Louis--March 30, 2009
              T-2 to Pelvis, and hopefully all posterior procedure.

              All was posterior along with 2 cages and 6 osteotomies.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Back-out View Post
                Good to know about this product. I wonder, though, if aloe is the main ingredient, why not use plain aloe? (Having just returned from a health food store and noticed aloe products there - a lot cheaper than this one!)

                I guess one needs a helper to apply this stuff to scars in back, right? (Duh! Seeing as how it would take a helper to reach there even BEFORE surgery...)

                *sigh* Another of those things it's impossible to do alone.
                I wonder it those reach applicator things would work for this. Of course, there are a couple of problems - the price if it's wasted and also SEEING where to put it! I.e., not just reaching...

                It is not necessary to use anything on your scar. We never used Mederma or anything else on Jamie's back and her scar is a very faded, thin white line that most people don't notice unless they are standing very close to her. So, that's one thing you can scratch off your list!

                My best recommendation is to keep the scar out of the sun for the first year. That's what Jamie's doctor recommended. Her first post-op summer, she wore a speedo one piece suit that covered most of the scar. We used tons of suntan lotion and reapplied it often. And no, you don't need a helper to do this. They make great suntan lotion in a spray can that you don't have to rub in. You can always wear a t-shirt as added protection if you feel you might have missed a spot with the spray lotion.

                Mary Lou
                Mom to Jamie age 21-diagnosed at age 12-spinal fusion 12/7/2004-fused from T3-L2; and Tracy age 19, mild Scoliosis-diagnosed at age 18.

                Comment


                • #9
                  We were advised to try Mederma or Vit E squeezed from a capsule after my daughter's VBS surgery in May. She got a big rash twice from Vit E, so now we use Mederma. It is Aloe, but it also has onion bulb extract and I think walnut extract, so who knows? I have heard it helped some but not others.

                  Our doc told us the scar tissue has no oil glands in it, so he advised we apply lotion to the area every day. He told us this at her one-month check up. He also told us to make very sure it doesn't see the sun or get sunburned for one year, as this will permanantly "tatoo" red into the scar. I got her a short-sleeved rash-guard swim top which she loves, and it covers the two scars completely.

                  Good luck!
                  Gayle, age 50
                  Oct 2010 fusion T8-sacrum w/ pelvic fixation
                  Feb 2012 lumbar revision for broken rods @ L2-3-4
                  Sept 2015 major lumbar A/P revision for broken rods @ L5-S1


                  mom of Leah, 15 y/o, Diagnosed '08 with 26* T JIS (age 6)
                  2010 VBS Dr Luhmann Shriners St Louis
                  2017 curves stable/skeletely mature

                  also mom of Torrey, 12 y/o son, 16* T, stable

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    We have a similare product over here in Aus. It is also very expensive even though my Private Health care offers a rebate, however, i found that Rosehip Oil worked best for me and my other two friends said that Bio-Oil worked for them.
                    Vali
                    44 years young! now 45
                    Surgery - June 1st, 2009
                    Dr David Hall - Adelaide Spine Clinic
                    St. Andrews Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia
                    Pre-op curve - 58 degree lumbar
                    Post -op - 5 degrees
                    T11 - S1 Posterior
                    L4/5 - L5/S1 Anterior Fusion

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by JenM View Post
                      Hi all-

                      My doctor said I could use mederma(sp?) for the incision if I wanted to put anything on the incision. My mom kept telling me Vitamin E oil over and over again so when she asked the doctor in front of him he said no, which was a relief to me. What is mederma, has anyone used it? Is it a lotion/cream, or is it some type of strips?

                      JenM
                      Maybe you can use BioOil? it minimizes scars, stretch marks, sun damage and it's really not that expensive! There's a ton of minerals and stuff in it though, so I would ask the doc. Best of luck in your healing!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        It doesn't take much

                        I used Mederma for about 1 year. (That is how long 1 large tube lasted) Then kept sunscreen on my scar for the next 3 years. I used a product made by ocean potion. It is a spf 60 in a dab on tube. I removed the dab on applicator because it was over 1/2" wide and dipped a cotton swab into the liquid and applied it down my scar. You can hardly see my scar. I used about 1 1/2 tubes of the sunscreen total.
                        A friend of mine had back surgery a week after I did and did none of the above, his scar is very dark now. Overkill? Maybe, but easy enough to do.


                        2/22/06 T10-L4 was 49* now 8*

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Suzy View Post
                          It is a spf 60 in a dab on tube. I removed the dab on applicator because it was over 1/2" wide and dipped a cotton swab into the liquid and applied it down my scar. You can hardly see my scar. I used about 1 1/2 tubes of the sunscreen total.
                          ...easy enough to do.
                          You mean "easy enough" for someone else to apply to your back, right? On things like this, we singletons need to dot the i's and cross the t's, even though often, I fear I know the answer...Just hoping for some solution I haven't heard of, though! Often ingenuity has dictated there ARE ways, in method or products.

                          And how many times a day is it applied?

                          Trying to figure out how to have someone around even late in recovery for those little things I may continue to need to have done, but have trouble with alone. Even putting on stable running shoes will probably be in that category - they make a huge difference now in whether or not my back hurts. Something about the built-in support. They really are scientifically made - But SNUG!
                          Not all diagnosed (still having tests and consults) but so far:
                          Ehler-Danlos (hyper-mobility) syndrome, 69 - somehow,
                          main curve L Cobb 60, compensating T curve ~ 30
                          Flat back, marked lumbar kyphosis (grade?) Spondilolisthesis - everyone gives this a different grade too. Cervical stenosis op'd 3-07, minimally invasive

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Actually I do do it myself, Not only the SPF but the Mederma too. I held a mirror, looking into it over my shoulder, at my back in the bathroom mirror. I then could see where to run the swab down my scar. I just used my finger for the Mederma. I put the SPF on 1X. I am not a huge swimmer or tanner so it lasts with one application for me.
                            As for putting on your running shoes you will be able to do it but you need to make sure you keep your hamstrings flexible. That way you can bend your knee and pull your foot up toward you. I have a few friends with HUGE fusions and this is something they can do now. Post op everything is getting use to being in different places and it s a bit tight. Also, pain makes us tense up so. It takes a little time to get everything loosened up again.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Back-out View Post
                              I guess one needs a helper to apply this stuff to scars in back, right? (Duh! Seeing as how it would take a helper to reach there even BEFORE surgery...)
                              I use this sponge that is attached to a long adjustable handle to apply any lotions to my back, works great -- you can purchase them in any surgical supply stores. I also use it to apply lotion to my lower legs and feet as I sometimes have problems reaching down that far.
                              Dolores A
                              June 4, 2009 Anterior L3 - S1
                              June 8, 2009 Posterior T4 - Pelvis
                              Mark Agulnick, MD FAAOS
                              NY Spine & Scoliosis Center

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