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Minimising Scars

JRzipper

By JRzipper,
in Health / Nutrition / Grooming

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JRzipper

JRzipper

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Hi all,

One of my dogs has undergone surgery in the last couple of days that has left her with a fairly big row of stitches on the outside of her stifle on her show side (naturally! :) ). It looks awful at the moment with all that shaved turkey skin, swelling and bruising. I know all that will eventually disappear, but I wondered if anyone had success with any product or supplement in reducing the appearance of scars and regrowing the hair. I would love to be able to show this girl again if she comes back sound, but am wondering if that will be possible with this scar. She has a short smooth coat so unless I can find a way to minimise the scar, it will be pretty obvious.

Any ideas?

Thanks

JR

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JRzipper

JRzipper

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Manuka honey, paw paw ointment and aloe vera gel all have a good reputation for helping minimise scarring.

I can vouch for manuka honey!

Thanks Poodlefan,

I have some pawpaw ointment. :confused:

Did you have any problems with the dog licking the honey or paw paw ointment straight off? My girl has an Elizabethan collar on at the moment - Would I need to leave that on for the time that I was using the manuka honey or the paw paw ointment?

Also, I wondered how sticky that form of honey is. Being that the scar is on the outside of her leg, she will be lying on the scar when she is on her bed or anywhere else and I thought maybe it would get a bit messy.

At least it's not summer so she shouldn't attract too many insects! :)

JR

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JRzipper

JRzipper

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Omega oils or vitamin E in her food?? I'm not sure if it would help or not but it certainly wouldn't hurt. Vitamin E is good to put straight on the skin too.

Thanks SecretKei,

She is getting Omega oils & Vit E in her food but I hadn't thought of putting the Vit E straight on her skin.

JR

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Danelady

Danelady

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With scaring of skin, there is scar tissue underneath the skin which is why the hair doesn't grow back. Circular massage works wonders over the area to break up the scar tissue only after everything is healed of course. If it is an old very large scar (which yours is not) Acupuncture works even better!

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cavNrott

cavNrott

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Don't put anything on the stitches until they are healed and have been removed, or if they're disolving stitches, until they have disolved. The incision area must be kept dry until the sutures are out.

You will find the hair will grow back and cover any scarring anyway without anything being applied to the incision line.

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kelpiekaye

kelpiekaye

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once the stitches are removed massage the healing scar with some bio oil ... a lot of ladies have probably used this in their quest for perfect skin :love:

rosehip oil might be an option too...

best of luck with your endeavours :love:

I was going to say bio-oil too. I have used it myself, not in the quest for perfect skin, was recommended to me to use for some scarring on my face. It keeps the scar area flexible and the vit E helps the skin repair. Rubbing the oil in will help too.

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JRzipper

JRzipper

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Thanks everyone for your replies :D

I should have mentioned that I wasn't intending to use anything until the incision had healed completely and the stitches were removed.

I had heard of Bio Oil and it seems to get a good review from people who have used it for scars so hopefully it would work for dogs as well. Another thing I found in my online search was a horse product that sounds interesting:

Hi Shine's new HG Serum is a potent, concentrated Natural Serum blended with the finest cosmetic grade oils & plant extracts to aid the rapid growth of hair on the horse, particularly manes & tails, blemishes, hot spots, scratches & abrasions.

HG Serum is recommended for use on areas where hair has been rubbed out from friction (rugging etc), minor cuts/scrapes/abrasions, new & aged scars, hot spots etc... it is highly concentrated and only a small amount needs to be applied. It will assist the healing process of the skin after injury and stimulate new hair growth.

Available in 125ml bottles @ $25 postage included

,

I'm thinking that maybe this or Bio Oil used to massage the area around the scar might help.

JR

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t-time

t-time

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a friend of mine used the liquid from vitamin E capsules straight on his scars (after a big car accident) it worked amazingly well,

Ditto for my sister who had a major scar on her face following an accident. Vitamin E capsules, break them open and rub into the scarring - work wonders! You'd never know that sister had a 23cm scar on her face! :D

Bio Oil sounds interesting...what's in it Sas? Those photos are really impressive looks like a different dog! :thumbsup:

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