Emergency C Section Patients At Risk For Incision Complications And Keloid Scarring

Valencia, California:  Emergency C-Section patients usually have life and death on their mind when they are told that they need to go to surgery immediately.  These mothers-to-be have entered their third trimester with thoughts of a normal baby birthing process and have not prepared themselves mentally for the ramifications of having a surgical intervention like that of a C-section.  Lack of preparation and ability to absorb all the discharge instructions can make for a rocky recovery including that of a poorly healing incision.

Many mothers who have had emergency c sections wind up with a whirlwind story to tell along with an unattractive, bumpy raised scar to go with it.  “I went in to have a baby not to have surgery,” stated Elizabeth Meza, who experienced and emergency C-section first hand.  “After the c-section, not only was I a new mom but I was also a surgical patient.  This made our discharge education a challenge for both my husband and I.  We were already feeling overwhelmed with everything we needed to learn about being new parents.  But now I had to pay attention to the details about my body healing.  That didn’t work out so well.”

New mothers tend to go home and focus on the needs of the baby even at the expense of their own health.  Follow up baby appointments take priority over post-delivery mom checkups.  This often results in missed gynecology appointments all together.  Follow up appointments with the gynecologist are extremely important because it allows the doctor to assess the mom and the surgery for any potential complications. 

One potential complication is an infection at the C-section site.  This is something that can be easily treated if caught on time, but can lead to further hospitalization if it is not.  A wound dehiscing (incision that is splitting open), is another complication that must be looked at and immediately treated by a surgeon.

Keloid scarring at the incision site is a common complaint from patients who have had C-sections.  Keloid scars are raised scars that are often bumpy and itchy.  These scars can be unsightly and can leave a mother feeling self-conscious and insecure about her body.

“I was guilty of not properly taking care of myself or my incision after my C-section,” stated Meza.  “And I did wind up with a partially keloided scar.  I have since had repeated C-sections and have fortunately learned from my mistakes.  The following C-sections I took care of my incision as per my doctor’s instructions and used a high quality silicone based scar gel.  This not only helped with my scar’s healing but it also wound up fading my previous scar.  Lesson learned, I now follow my doctors instructions.”