Katawa Shoujo Forums

Early in the game, Hisao mentions a scar on his chest from the multiple heart surgeries he underwent.
We never get to see it though.
I haven't been able to find any artwork that depicts it in The Mishimie, as he almost always has a shirt on or his chest is obscured.
I keep getting false leads with google as far as heart surgery scars are concerned, so I'm beginning to get frustrated.

I want to know what it looks like, such as its color, shape, texture, and where on his chest it would be.
I'd also like to know how much it would stand out against his skin.
Can anyone help me out?

We have decided that the scars will look like bypass scars; basically a vertical line down his chest where they would have cracked his ribs.

Thank you.

So one long scar down the breastbone. Now I just need to figure out how long it's been since the surgery to determine it's color, but I can do that myself.
Would the stitching also have caused scars, or is it purely a simple line?
Edit:

-	-
-	-
-	-

^or^, is what I mean. Connect the vertical and horizontal lines in your head, I guess.

Post op heart patient here, ask away and I'll attempt to satisfy your curiosity(don't expect much since it was done when I was 5)

From one surgery it's a simple line. From multiple however I imagine it would different unless of course they opened up the same scar.

Also what crud says is true...heart surgery scars look like bypass scars(from what i typed into google image)

Well from I've seen in images on Google - bearing in mind I'm no expert on the subject - and from having a couple of burn scars on my hands from cooking accidents over, the colour of the scar would depend on it's age.

Fresh, it would be pretty red.
2-4 afterward, it would be more of a shiny pink.
Anything after that the scar would go to a darker tone of the skin.

Since Hisao is still growing, the scar would shrink as well, though since it's only been about 6 months from hospital to the start of his time at Yamaku, I can't imagine the scar having shrunk much.

Again, I'm no expert, so don't quote me on this. But I hope this helps nonetheless.

Infection, depth of wound, type of wound, and treatment can all affect how a scar forms in the healing process. Instead of risking making another "wall of science" i'll just point to the wiki. It's written reasonably well, and most people should be able to understand it. Not all the details necessary for a complete understanding of how scar tissue forms is there, but you should be able to get the gist of it. The natural pigment of your skin also affects the coloration of the scar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scar

As a side note, scarring is a unique healing mechanism. It is because of scar tissue formation that spinal injuries can be so problematic. If we did not form scar tissue there, we could feasibly fuse damage nerves back together with great ease. The evolutionary mechanism behind this is unknown/unclear.

I would expect Hisao to be somewhat shy about his scars. He seems a bit self conscious about his condition, so sporting his scar about would go against his personality.

Wait, he's become a male version of Hanako now?

Hey, long time lurker, first time poster. Just wanted to share some info that I thought might be helpful. The first few google image hits for "heart bypass surgery scars" yielded pictures such as this:



So I imagine that that's what Hisao's scars would look like, seeing as how they're reasonably fresh.

And as for what people were talking about regarding older scars, I have an appendectomy scar from when I was in fifth grade (about 11 years ago) and this is what it looks like now:



Given time, scars change color, and they usually shrink a little, although sometimes (as with my scar) it's the person who changes size.

Sxoriu wrote:Wait, he's become a male version of Hanako now?

Not at all. He can hide his and doesn't have to worry about it unless his shirt is removed. His awkwardness about it could make for some interesting dialog later on in each of the girls' stories, that's all.
____

The only thing I can't figure out is how the fact he had "multiple" surgeries would effect the scar. Would it be wider than normal, rise above the skin a little or take longer to change color, since the wound was re-opened before it could heal fully?

I wonder around what time during his stay at the hospital he had his last surgery. From the game it sounds like it's been at least a few months, so the scar would probably be closer to skin tone when he gets to Yamaku right?...or would it still be pinkish?

The wikipedia article mentions that keloid scars are more common on the chest and shoulders, but Hisao isn't dark skinned and none of the images of bypass scars I've been able to find apear to have developed that way.

I have an uncle that has gone multiple heart surgeries and remember seeing his scar in his chest, it was pretty much like the one videlicet90 put, but somewhat wider. Also, he had taken away a length of an artery (I think, can't remember pretty well) from both the inner side of his thighs. The scars in the thighs are, IIRC, a straight line while the on on the chest has the dots at the sides.

http://www.gamesanityblog.com/images/gdsurge3.jpg is the reference image we're using. Of course, the precise look will only be visible in any CGs where it's shown.

It's a fairly typical scar for bypass surgery, along the lines of what Hisao's referred to as having had. Over time the red goes away and the area ends up a slightly recessed white line.

Onisake wrote:As a side note, scarring is a unique healing mechanism. It is because of scar tissue formation that spinal injuries can be so problematic. If we did not form scar tissue there, we could feasibly fuse damage nerves back together with great ease. The evolutionary mechanism behind this is unknown/unclear.

Some additional information may show up sometime in the future. To my knowledge though, scarring is not really a mechanism itself but more a "malfunction" of our regeneration mechanisms. Skin as an example will often heal up with no marks for shallower or small wounds. Deeper, larger wounds or if a scab is disturbed often results in scarring of some form because the regeneration process is either inadequate for the extent of damage or disrupted while healing. Our nervous system seems to be one part that does not heal well for whatever reason.

It's not hard to think of even simple things that could be improved with our bodies but evolution can't "think" that way. Evolution is basically a process of trial and error that eventually succeeds in improving something so what we are is simply the best it could do for the moment.

BustRobot wrote:Well from I've seen in images on Google - bearing in mind I'm no expert on the subject - and from having a couple of burn scars on my hands from cooking accidents over, the colour of the scar would depend on it's age.

Fresh, it would be pretty red.
2-4 afterward, it would be more of a shiny pink.
Anything after that the scar would go to a darker tone of the skin.

Since Hisao is still growing, the scar would shrink as well, though since it's only been about 6 months from hospital to the start of his time at Yamaku, I can't imagine the scar having shrunk much.

Again, I'm no expert, so don't quote me on this. But I hope this helps nonetheless.

sorry if this is necroing this thread, but thought that as someone who had multiple operation scars i should describe what its like

For the first 4 months they are a red-pink and depending on location, they become recessed.
afterwards they fade to a light white (this can take 8 months to a year and a half depending on how large the scar is. exception to this is scars on the wrist which fade to white in centre, pink outer.

if you have multiple operations in the same place the scarring becomes more pronounced (more white and visible)

if anyone wants to see the scars, just post a message here and ill post a picture or two (with something to identify myself... probably a sign with my username)