Question:
Is People with Black skin that different?
DO PEOPLE WITH DARKER SKIN END UP WITH KELOIDS AFTER SURGERY? IF SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PREVENT THIS? ALSO, I HAVE BEEN READING HERE ALOT AND HAVEN'T FOUND ANY BLACK PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT SAGGING SKIN. IS OUR SKIN THAT DIFFERENT??? — washar (posted on December 26, 2001)
December 25, 2001
I don\'t believe that Black people necessarily end up with keloids, after
surgery more often. I did not. I have a very smooth scar. I believe that if
you are prone to forming keloids, you would know by now, especially if you
have pierced ears. You would also know if you got a cut or burn. I have
sagging skin on my arms, but other than that I have no problems with my
stomach or legs because I am exercising 4 -5 times a week. I would
recommend you see a dermatologist that specializes in Black skin care, if
you are worried. Hope this answer helps. Good luck with your weight loss.
— [Anonymous]
December 25, 2001
From the post ops I\'ve seen, I think that stretch marks tend to show a
little more on darker skin. I have really light skin and my husband didn\'t
believe I had all those stretch marks until I made him look in good light.
Believe me, I have plenty! I think your heredity has more to do with it
than anything. Some people will sag, others snap back. If you don\'t have a
lot of stretch marks, I wouldn\'t worry about it.
— ctyst
December 26, 2001
Well I am in the dark skinned category. I\'d say my hue is akin to Morris
Chestnut. Anyway, I had a lap and I have six 1 inch incisions. 2 of them
are puffy. Of the 2, I\'d say one is actually a keloid. And of course
that is the one that is the most visible to me LOL. It is less than an
inch though. But like the previous poster said, when I got a second hole
in my ears, one of them keloided. But the weird thing is, it went away
(the keloid) after a couple years. I\'m not that worried about this
particular one on my stomach. But I am concerned that should I need
plastic surgery, the scar will keloid. And I know I could have worse
worries so I\'ll deal with that when and if it happens. Anyway, you may
want to consider joining the OSSG-Black listserv and posting your question
there. It is a yahoogroup of black women who have had or are thinking of
having the various WL surgeries. We discuss issues that are significant to
black folks. It is probably one of the most informative listservs I\'ve
ever been a part of. And the majority of posters are from the DC/Maryland
area. Drop me a line if you have any questions. Good luck and God Bless!
— Kimberly L.
December 26, 2001
Oh yeah, I forgot about the sagging skin thing. Now that, I don\'t think
is color related. Several women on OSSG-Black have felt the need for tucks
and plastic surgery. I myself am not buying into the more stretch marks
equals less elasticity theory (not because there\'s no scientific validity,
but because I prefer not to buy into the negative side). Anyway, my
stomach has nice long stretch marks all around and I\'ve lost 90 pounds
with no excess skin. Now my arms have stretch marks and I do have a lot of
hanging skin there. My thighs have no stretch marks and they are doing the
jelly roll too...LOL. I also exercise 5-6 days a week so perhaps that will
help.
— Kimberly L.
December 26, 2001
I\'m African American and I had an open rny three years ago. My
best friend had hers two years ago and two relatives had rny\'s
over twenty years ago. All black people aren\'t subject to keloids
and those that are know it before their surgery. skin is skin and
we don\'t have any more or less problems with sagging skin. I do find
that within our support group, very few black patients lose their hair.
My surgeon agrees that hair loss occurs less frequently in people with
very curly hair. None of my friends/family members lost any hair at all.
— [Anonymous]
December 26, 2001
I haven\'t lost any hair either and I\'m 6 mos post today. But I do know
some that have had hair loss. I have locks though so the not combing thing
and washing everyday may contribute somewhat.
— Kimberly L.
December 26, 2001
I\'m white,white and my open rny scar is keloid. I could go to a plastic
surgeon for him to redo the incision but I\'m not planning to show my bare
belly outside of home. I expected it to keloid because all my scars have
keloid.
I don\'t think skin color has much to do with keloid or saggy skin.
— Helen B.
December 26, 2001
It is true that the more pigment you have in your skin, the more prone you
are to keloid. So that means that the amount of keloid scarring can vary
greatly among black people, or any group of people for that fact based on
the shade of skin. Color/race doesn\'t have anything to do with sagging. My
PCP has recommended taking Stress Tabs with Zinc (a B complex vitamin) and
a 400 IU Vitamin E Capsule every day to promote good healing and skin
turgor. It seems to be working for me <i><b>and I am
black.</i></b>
— [Anonymous]
December 27, 2001
Before I had open RNY I'd had two abdominal surgeries and knee surgery. I
have no keloids. I am a darker skin African American. I have a girlfriend
who is bi-racial and very light complexed. She suffers from sever keloids
from simply having her ears pierced. Check with your physician and see what
testing can be done or if there are any supplements you can take in order
to help prevent them. Also a friend gave me this stuff call Scargo which I
use on a regular basis and it has helped my scar to fade. I will never be
able to wear a bikini or expose my bellybutton (thank God!) but thats a
minor price to pay. And yes dear, I have saggy skin especially on my upper
arms. If a strong wind came along I could take flight! I also have saggy
skin on my tummy. Those are the only places on my body that is sagging
(besides my boobs!). I am due to have another surgery (hysterectomy) in Feb
and I am praying that I do not suffer any keloids this time. Good luck and
God Bless.
— Teresa G.
December 30, 2001
As an Esthetician who works in a Dermatologists office, I would say that my
African American patients seem more susceptible to keloids and skin
hyperpigmentation. However, I do have caucasian patients that have severe
keloids, but there are fewer cases. Sagging skin has nothing to do with
race or color, some people are just lucky I guess.
— [Anonymous]
April 15, 2003
As far as sagging in Black skin, I would imagine it WOULD happen less often
for this reason -- the melanin in the skin that prevents burning also
prevents or slows aging of the skin (if you don't believe me, compare
white/black faces of same age - as a White woman I can say we always have
more wrinkles!) This melanin also prevents loss of elasticity, so...I
imagine that at LEAST the skin that is sun exposed will tend to sag less in
blacks than whites.
— Barb D.
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