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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Is the scar from a private CS better than NHS???

40 replies

whatatip · 31/07/2011 08:19

Someone said this to me recently...it's rubbish surely?

She said that was why she wanted to go to the Portland, because she thought the surgeons would do a cosmetically better job of a CS than the surgeons would do on the NHS.

Now initially I thought that sounded wrong, then the more I think about it I think it sounds ridiculous. But I have no experience of a CS so I want to know what people with experience might say.

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ChristinedePizan · 31/07/2011 08:27

Well my scar is almost invisible and it's a 4 year old NHS one and actually it's nicer than my friend's private one. You might want to remind your friend that nearly all private consultants are actually also NHS ones and that going private is no guarantee of being good with a needle and thread

ZakuroFujiwara · 31/07/2011 08:29

I have had an NHS scar and a private scar. Both were very good - all midwives commented on it both times!

More to do with partiucular surgeons I think than whether you pay or not. Stands to reason that some surgeons will be better than others.

GreenTeapot · 31/07/2011 08:30

I'm perfectly satisfied with my regulation issue NHS scar thanks! I haven't got a private one to compare it with, but as a vet I can confidently say that my surgical scars do not vary depending on who's paying for the operation . Your friend's a loon.

GreenTeapot · 31/07/2011 08:33

I should also add that scars depend as much, in fact more, on genetic make up and things like infection than they do on the surgeon. There's no massive skill in making a linear incision then suturing it so the edges meet!

ttalloo · 31/07/2011 08:34

I had two CSs at the Portland and everyone marvelled at the neatness of my scar, because my obstetrician used glue rather than staples or stitches to put it back together. But as has been said before, it all depends on the surgeon and their approach - which is regardless of whether they are NHS or private. And it's a ridiculous basis on which to choose an obstetrician, or decide whether to opt out of the NHS.

Does your friend think she'll get a tummy tuck at the Portland at the same time as getting the world's best CS scar?

QTPie · 31/07/2011 08:55

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

sybilfaulty · 31/07/2011 09:00

I have had 3 CS and my last one was definitely th ebest - had a pressure dressing applied as the old scar was raised and keloid and they were trying to prevent this. I don't scar well though and you can still see parts of it 2.5 years on but really it is so low that my knickers cover it anyway. If I wore a bikini then the world would look at the dodgy tum rather than a wee scar.

In my last 2 CS the SHO closed after the Reg had done the baby and the internal stitching. In my first one, the SHO did the whole thing. I was the first CS he had ever done and he said afterwards he was terrified but frankly I was too knackered and vomitous to care at the time!

silverangel · 31/07/2011 09:45

My surgeon is also a private surgeon, I'm presuming the scare is going to look the same and she won't do anything differently as I'm NHS. Her private work is in the same hospital anyway!

thursday · 31/07/2011 11:20

i had a crash section 2 years ago, my scar is virtually invisible. i've discovered on a thread elsewhere that it is quite long compared to others, probably due to urgency, but it was beautifully executed. i had staples.

Imnotaslimjim · 31/07/2011 12:17

I was a bit of a guinea pig for my NHS CS. They were trialling a new technique at the hospital that has left me with practically no scarring! She is talking rubbish

superv1xen · 31/07/2011 12:22

Does your friend think she'll get a tummy tuck at the Portland at the same time as getting the world's best CS scar

ttalloo :o

i have had 2 cs on the nhs and my scar is very neat and nearly invisible. so no, i doubt it makes a difference.

BalloonSlayer · 31/07/2011 12:29

I've had 3 NHS scars and they have all been good. My last one (they cut the old one out each time they do a new CS) was done by a woman surgeon and has been virtually invisible for at least a year, probably more (DS2 is nearly 4). DD was nearly 5 when I had DS2 and I don't think the scar from her birth was as invisible as this one is, when I had DS2.

I had staples with DS1 and DD but I can't remember what I had for DS2. Maybe it was something different. I can't believe I can't remember! It definitely wasn't glue though, I'd have remembered that.

allhailtheaubergine · 31/07/2011 12:35

I heard if you go private they stitch you up using a white tail strand from an unicorn and treat the wound with mermaid tears.

In the NHS they use bale-a-twine and a bit of cooking brandy.

Meglet · 31/07/2011 12:46

My EMCS scar was a bit wonkier than my ELCS and hysterectomy. But even then they have all faded down to a faint white line.

I did get a mini stomach tuck with my hysterectomy. The surgeon wanted to make sure the scar was nice and neat so cut out a cm of the old cs scars before he stitched me back up . I can still see the ends of the cs scars as they are longer.

FWIW I had dissovable stiches with my EMCS, staples with my ELCS (not as bad as I feared) and a running stitch with my hysterectomy.

Meglet · 31/07/2011 12:48

Actually I'm not sure I did have staples, might have been one of the stiches with beads. Can't believe I've forgotten it was only 3 years ago . Whatever it was it was fine.

Meglet · 31/07/2011 12:48

Actually I'm not sure I did have staples, might have been one of the stiches with beads. Can't believe I've forgotten it was only 3 years ago . Whatever it was it was fine.

ShowOfHands · 31/07/2011 12:58

They didn't even stitch mine. Bloody NHS lobbed me a rusty, blunt needle and a bit of John McCririck's arse hair and told me to do it myself.

I actually do have a friend with a private cs scar and hers is fairly raggedy due to infection/reopening. Same friend swears I'm lying about my NHS cs as my scar is almost completely invisible.

emsyj · 31/07/2011 12:59

I had a crash section but my scar is quite tidy (according to the midwives, who were very impressed and said it was a very neat scar for an emcs). I don't have an overhang either.

I don't think you can predict how good or bad your scar will be, but I think they are normally below the knicker line anyway, so if I didn't have a giant spongy post-baby belly and cake-induced thunder thighs I could wear a bikini no problem!

BalloonSlayer · 31/07/2011 13:17

ooh Meglet, thanks, you have jogged my memory! I think I had something with beads at the end too.

visavis · 31/07/2011 15:06

allhailtheaubergine. Mine is of the unicorn variety, but don't think it is any better or worse than friends who have had theirs done on the NHS. How good or bad it is is down to your own skin healing as well as the surgeon. I suppose the only thing which has any relevance is the degree of experience of the surgeon.

kippersandjam · 31/07/2011 15:16

i have had one nhs and one private. the only difference was that the surgeon in the NHS after cutting by unborn baby when she opened me up, narrowly missing his eye, (stitches at birth, nice) handed over mid stitching to a student and gave them some on the job experience- pull harder! had no idea a student was going to be involved in the cs as it wasn't planned, but not an emergency either. qo 10 mins later i lost over 2.5 litres of blood

2nd one, private, no problems, no bleeding, cautherised wound and tidied up proud flesh inside from first one. did cut in same place.

must say the scar in both went quite quickly, and had the melting stitches, not the others -ouch!

suggest to look for a surgeon who does them ALL the time if you have the chance.

BagofHolly · 31/07/2011 17:44

Add message | Report | Message poster allhailtheaubergine Sun 31-Jul-11 12:35:15
I heard if you go private they stitch you up using a white tail strand from an unicorn and treat the wound with mermaid tears.

In the NHS they use bale-a-twine and a bit of cooking brandy.

I'm a bit in love with you!

1944girl · 31/07/2011 18:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

theborrower · 31/07/2011 18:57

I've never heard that, sounds a bit crazy to me

I've also heard that (possibly, sometimes) EMCS scars may not be as neat as ELCS scars, due to there being bit more of a rush involved. But I guess that depends on how fast we're talking. And I'm sure they're still going to try and hold a steady hand...!

My EMCS scar is pretty neat. The midwives / doctors etc that saw it / checked it after made comments like "Oh, that's neat", and "Good job" etc.

I'm not too bothered. It's so low down, the only people that ever see it are me and my husband. If it was a crazy wiggling line or something, then maybe I might be a bit narked...

orangehead · 31/07/2011 19:23

I had a crash nhs section 9 years ago, the scar is ok but you cant see it because of the disgusting overhang. After much dieting and excerise and weight loss, my overhang remains the same. I asked my consultant about it, he said no amount of diet or exercise will fix it the only thing that will work is a tummy tuck as it is because they have stitched me up wrong. My friend also had a crash nhs section the same week as me but at a different hospital, the surgeon said to her that as she was a runner he would make sure she was left with a nice tight tummy. And she has, no overhang, scar good. Doesnt seem fair.
I suppose different surgeons can make a difference and I suppose private may have the advantage that they have more time for you but private doesnt mean you get a surgeon that is better a stitching up as many have pointed out they can often be the same surgeon

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