TAH Will hard scar tissue ever go away

I am just over 3 wks post TAH with a 6-7" incision just above my hairline. Incision seemed to heal fine however just above it for same width or tad more I have this long raised hardened area that I gather is scar tissue?? Did anyone else have this and if so, did it ever go away? Above it I have my lower belly fat. Sitting upright to eat or work at desk etc is very uncomfortable. Slightly reclined feels so much better but I can't go on living in reclined position forever! It's also very sensitive to the touch, itchy and warm. Just wondering if I am alone w this issue? And wondering if anyone had scar tissue like this that got better or went away and if so, how long? I'd there anything i can do to help it go away? Thanks gals!

I had a little 1 inch overhang above my incision until about a week ago. It looked like a mini beer belly. It was soft though not hard. My doc said it might always be there when I asked him at post op. But it's gone so not sure if that's the same as yours. But you are early in your healing every day is a new day and it's amazing how around week six you will start to think about your op less and less.
Good luck and feel free to private message me with any questions. I'm not an expert but I had a relatively easy recovery compared to some.

My incision is about 6-7" and vertical. The bottom part is still a tiny bit hard and bumpy but the top is smooth now. It'll get there, just take a little time. Mine doesn't itch though, it's numb.

I'm three weeks post op and have exact same as initial poster .. It feels weird

Three weeks after a TAH is not a long time. You're only about halfway through your recovery period. :-)

Also, what your incision looks like after six weeks is not what's it's going to look like after a year. Over time, it will get smoother and softer. The colour will also fade to blend in with your normal skin tone. (I've been through this before with scars in other locations.) You just have to be patient.

The shelf effect is pretty common among sisters who've had a horizontal incision. Normally, your skin moves easily over the underlying muscle and fat. When you have an incision, the skin is *temporarily* connected to the underlying layers. It's sort of like if you had a rug lying on a hard wood floor, and then you put a heavy piece of furniture on the rug. The furniture prevents the rug from moving over the floor, so the rug might get some rumples in it.

That's where your shelf is coming from. It's a rumple. As the incision continues to heal, the skin will eventually return to its normal, easily-moving state.

Thanks for the replies ladies! It helps a lot to hear of gals with similar situation as I have been worried and my next appt isn't for 2 more wks.

SurprisedinNB, great explanation, thanks so much for taking time to reply

So if you read my original post for this thread you can see i thought my pain and hard area just above my long incision was normal scar tissue. Well I woke up this morn to find a wet spot on the bed and then realized my incision was leaking!! Keep in mind I thought it was healed as I am 24 days post op! Scary. And of course it's the wkend but the women's health clinic I go to has 5 gynos that work together and have an answering service for off hrs. So my dr/surgeon's partner that was on call this wkend called me back. He was at hospital delivering babies today and told me I needed to come into ER so he could see me as it shouldn't wait until Monday. Well that hard area wasn't scar tissue it was a seroma that appeared to be infected. (Will know infection details in a few days when culture results come back.) he had to give me shots of numbing meds and then enter the area that was leaking and drain it. He drained lots, like 4 oz! Was so icky, hurt and was scary to me but he was so awesome. He started me on antibiotic and said I need to go back to my dr in 3-4 days for her to check and that it may have to be drained again. He will be totally briefing my dr before I see her since they work together. Search "seroma" for description. I hadn't come across it anywhere on here so had no idea what I thought was scar tissue could be this pocket of fluid! It's hard to know what is normal pain and what is not! I had immediate relief in the sitting up position after this was drained! This apparently has been festering in me since right after my 1 wk post op visit which is when I noticed this hard lump area beginning to form. I had a slight fever back then for about 5 evenings but it was under that 101 that is supposedly the trigger to call. But haven't had a fever for about 10 days or so. Anyway, just another thing I knew nothing about going into this! I hope all goes well but it's still leaking which he said it will. He sent me home with stuff to clean it with and cover/soak it up etc. it's all nerve racking when dr is 75 min drive from home. Sorry for rambling!

I am 19 days post tahbso and also have a ledge above my incision. I find it difficult to sit upright in a chair also due to pain and discomfort. Think this is normal. Sometimes the whole area around the incision itches but again think this is just healing. My skin feels hypersensitive numb but itchy x

Lisa1bell, hopefully your situation is normal, just be cautious as I found out today mine wasn't scar tissue like I thought! Not sure if you noticed my recent reply/post just above yours about what happened to me today, if not check it out! Good luck and healing to you! Xo

I thought it was a normal swelly belly but will keep a check on it. I have an appointment to see my gp in a weeks time so will mention it to her then x