after bunion surgery..what causes scar tissue??

Hi - did you see my other post where I said I live very near you. Anyway I think anytime you have an incision or even cut skin, you have the possibility of scar tissue forming during the healing process. I think that is why most doctors will tell you to start manually manipulating your big toe back and forth after surgery to help prevent the scar tissue from forming and limiting the range of motion. The more surgeries you have the more scar tissue can form.

Keep us posted on how things are going.

Mary:wave:

how can we get rid of scar tissue if we have 3 surgeies on the same foot? i cant bend my toe cause of fusion, but what else is there? thanks, debbie g

It can be surgically removed.

To put it very simply...once the skin and underlying layers are cut, it fills with a blood clot. Then cells called fibroblasts move into the clot from surrounding tissue, breaking it down and replacing it with scar tissue. This scar tissue is composed of collagen and fibrogen, the same protein as normal skin. The difference is the protein fibers in normal skin have a random basketweave pattern, while those in scar tissue align in a single direction.
The larger (deeper) the wound, the longer it takes to heal, the more scar tissue. As your skin naturally replaces itself, the scar will eventually fade. Again, depending on the severity of the wound. Other factors include race, age, heredity.
There are many ways to remove scar tissue including chemical, laser, massage, etc. The idea behind all of this is to break up those aligned strands so new tissue can form. Using creams to keep the skin moist and pliable, ex foliating as you massage.
There are drugs that stimulate new tissue growth but these are reserved for deep, hard to heal wounds.
Sometimes, scar tissue can adhere to an underlying structure causing obstruction (as in abdominal) or difficulty moving (as in a joint).
When I went to PT after my first surgery, the therapist did deep massage to break up the scar tissue restricting joint movement. There's also ultrasound (deep pulsating sound waves) that help break up (relax) deep scar tissue.
WHEW! Hope that wasn't too boring. Tomorrow there will be a quiz;) J.

thanks fot that answer-it was great! i understand alot more now debbie g

Thanks Myjo - that was not boring. I found it very informative and gives me more reason to keep moving my big toe joint! Thanks again for the incentive!

Mary

My pleasure. Scar tissue can be very painful and damaging so, keep those toes massaged and wiggling:) . J.