hemogoblin

@MulticulturalFarmer I'm open to all questions! It took about two weeks for them to close (at which point, I could have removed the glue, but as it was staying on, I left it on as long as I could stand), but it'll take 9 - 12 months for them to fully heal and see the final result. To prevent stretching and widening, I should avoid heavy lifting and raising my elbows above shoulder level for 3 - 6 months. I am cleared for cardio and starting to lift weights again, finally, but I am really nervous about navigating working out and accidentally causing fluid build up or anything else that could set back healing.

Fluid buildup? How does that happen? Sorry if that's kind of a nasty thing to ask.

I'm assuming you got top surgery? (Okay i'll be honest, I didn't check the pictures).

@MulticulturalFarmer So fluid buildup occurs because it's basically an immune system response, so if you exercise and cause too much undue stress on a still-healing area, it can cause bruising or even tearing between skin/muscle that's still healing and reconnecting itself. The body responds by sending things like white blood cells (for healing) and serous fluid (reduce friction to help prevent further harm - this is the fluid behind seromas and other fluid buildups). This can be more than the body actually needs or because the area is damaged and still healing, there may not be good draining away from the area. Thus, fluid buildup can occur around any areas of injury, such as surgical incisions.