Z_C- I have never had surgery but I’m a bit of a klutz and have had several very nasty injuries that scarred. I’ve found rubbing vitamin E oil or aloe vera can signifigantly reduce the appearance of the scar.
As for the tattoo, I have three and I have extremely sensative skin. I have to have dye free and fragrance free everything and I had no problem with any of my tattoos. If pain is a concern I will also tell you that the stomach is one of the best places to get ink. The more padding the better! 
If you have any questions about tattoos or finding a good parlor feel free to e-mail me, address is in my profile.
I’m glad your surgery went well and hope you have a speedy recovery and that this stops your pain. Take care of yourself.
Hm, that’s very interesting. I gather it’s somewhat like midwifery, but less technical - is that accurate?
Sounds just as technical to me matt if not slightly more so. At the least it sounds more demanding. “Support” almost conjures up a counselor who also delivers babies or someone who will do the housework for you while you recover from pushing. Am I anywhere near correct, Apricot CCL?
Ask your doctor about Mederma. My wife recommends it to many of her patients. It helps reduce the appearance of scars. It is also OTC, so you don’t need a 'script.
Also, as others have said, abdominal incisions always look bad after the surgery. They improve over time, and what looks bad now might not be so bad later.
Sorry to OT your post ZC, but I love this topic.
Doula-ing, most bluntly, is top-half support to a midwife’s bottom-half support. The midwife shifts her focus to the baby at some point, a doula doesn’t. The national organizations are fighting hard to make sure a doula is strictly a non-clinical type thing. I don’t take blood pressue measurements or check fetal heart tones at all. But I do know what those measurements mean, both abnormal and normal.
Things I might say or do:
Have pre-natal meetings with the woman. Help her clarify her level of pain tolerance. What does she want to happen when she says, “I can’t do this!” Talk about her expectations, and those of her partner.
Go to pre-natal appointments. Sometimes that involves helping a woman ask questions when her doctor is intimidating. Or helping her remember what the doctor said.
Help her pre-arrange for the care she wants. For instance, in the case of an planned epidural or c-section, it’s nice to talk to the anestesiologist about what medications you want or don’t want.
Attend her in early labor, hanging out and being with her.
Attend her in established labor, offering suggestions about positions, helping her cope with contractions, running out for snacks, providing tools like heat and cold packs, helping her get from her care providers the best care possible, according to her wishes. I often say things like, “can you wait until after the contraction to ask that question?” I also ask questions sometimes, like “What are the good things about doing X? What are the disadvantages? What happens if she waits?” Those are questions that help the woman make choices and that she told me to ask during our prenatal meetings.
Visit her after the birth, providing a larger view on the birth. I might write a birth story, if she wants.
Honestly, I sometimes think it doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do. There is growing evidence that just the constant presence of another woman continuously during labor can speed progress and lead to more self-satisfaction with the process.
As an added note, some doulas do post-birth work, too, providing care to the mother and infant for the weeks after birth, whether that’s dishes or breastfeeding support.
If that was outpatient surgery, my SO is going in for the same procedure on the 30[sup]th[/sup].
I have some mixed feelings on this subject. On the one hand, surgeons can soemtimes be careless, and I’m still pissed at my knee surgeon who put the opening squarely in the center of the knee, so I had severe pain from kneeling on even extremely soft surfaces for over a year and a half.
On the other hand, it is notoriously hard to close abdominal incisions cleanly, especially when the patient is lying down. There’s just too much free play on the skin, and I imagine that the recent removal of a multi-pound uterus added to the loose skin problem.
My mother had a hystrectomy, and the incision was closed by a plastic surgeon, but because she was lying down at the time, it came out looking awful (apparently they mark you up while you are still standing when doing belly tucks and the like). Two years down the road, it looks fine.
I think your native tendency to scar or heal well is going to be just as important as your sewing job. Have you had any other injuries you could base a guess on?
Also, my well wishes on the recovery process. It is a shame that you will not be able to bear your own children, but I’m sure you will find people to love in your life, including children if you want them.
mischievous
And I just wanted to add that while I have never heard of a doala, that sounds like a wonderful occupation, and I think everyone should have one for ANY kind of major medical proceedure.
mischievous
I’ve had both surgeries, actually. Lucky me! 
The first one was the one that I described above. It required a 3 day stay at the hospital. I say it was less invasive than Zabali_Clawbane because I did not have a hysterectomy.
Fortunately for your girlfriend, an out patient surgery will usually mean minimal scaring. It seems that most out patient surgeries for this procedure are either done as a Laparoscopy (tiny holes) or vaginally. Of course, I have to add that I am not a doc, so YMMV!
Wish her the best for me!
I just think that the initial viewing of the scar is what is the most shocking. To me, it made the surgery ‘real’. It really depressed me. I felt somehow like a failure. I hope it helps you to hear that now I’m well over that. I wouldn’t even cover the scar with a tattoo because I feel like its a part of me, now. A badge, if you will. It used to be something I never talked about, but now I try and share my story. It seems that there’s a lot of women out there with this procedure. No need to be ‘shameful’ over something we can’t help.
As for the tattooing, do what’s best for you. Personally, I would wait a year or so for the scar to heal. I don’t know if the healing process (and the ensuing flattening of the scar) will affect the tattoo.
My grandfather had multiple scars crisscrossing his chest, from multiple heart surgeries. They did eventually fade, although they were still clearly visible. This was all over 10 years ago, before they had the same techniques as today for reducing scarring.
I understand how you feel.
I had an incision probably a tad lower than you, that ran about 7 inches or so, and three smaller ones (one through the belly button, two on my stomach) – you can still see the three stomach ones, but they have faded considerably.
As for the long scar, it’s actually much better now than it was - HONEST. You really have to look hard to see it. They do fade, over time - they were UGLY for about a year after the surgery (where they removed an entire fallopian tube, but left the rest in). I also had the lumps, bumps and really uneven stitches. Ugh. I do know, though, that I was at a teaching hospital and that a student was assisting. I wouldn’t be surprised if the student was the one who did the stitching…
Oy.
It was emergency surgery, so who am I to complain, really… Poor doc was really overworked that night, PLUS we had the wards FULL of seniors with influenza (bad epidemic). The hospital put said ill coughing hacking seniors wherever they could, including in the surgery recovery ward. They let me go less than 12 hours after surgery because I would be safer at home than at the hospital. (without pain meds - whoops - my family doc wondered why I was still conscious and mostly coherent when he saw me, two days later…)
Oy. I feel your pain, kid. Hang in there. Let yourself heal. It will take time, and for a while you won’t feel anything around the incision site (which is REALLY WEIRD)… but things will heal up. Honest
Hang in there.