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[CodyTheDog]

1. See the title question

2. If you considered any surgery to reduce the appearance of the scars, which did you / would you go with and why? 
I vaguely recall on the old leg lengthening forum there was talk of a guy getting his scars snipped out by a burn or trauma surgeon guy.

3. What shapes/designs/colors might be good for a tattoo to mask the scar? Something that is not too flashy but will clearly hide the scar and look alright even as the colors of the tattoos fade.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

2.  That was me.
3.  The specific design and color aren't important.  What you should ask the tattoo artist for is outline on the scars.  There are two components of a tattoo: outline and shading.  Outline is done usually in black, with a very small needle that goes really deep.  Shading is done with a fatter needle, not as deep.  What they do is kind of like making and then filling in a coloring book.

[CodyTheDog]

2.  That was me.
3.  The specific design and color aren't important.  What you should ask the tattoo artist for is outline on the scars.  There are two components of a tattoo: outline and shading.  Outline is done usually in black, with a very small needle that goes really deep.  Shading is done with a fatter needle, not as deep.  What they do is kind of like making and then filling in a coloring book.

a. What specific kind of doctor did you see (was he really a burn specialist?)/ what was the kind of treatment you got from him? I'm trying to figure out how to find the right doctor and how to ask him for the right treatment.

I vaguely recall perhaps you said this on the old old forums maybe? But those forums are down so I can't find it.

b. Did you get a concealing tattoo? How'd it go/how often do you need to go back to the tattoo guy to get a touchup? I heard that black/grey will not fade as much over time but they all pretty much need a touchup.

c. Oddly enough, when I think of tattoos I am somewhat afraid of getting a bloodborne disease from it like Hepatitis, possibly out of bias towards certain cultures of people who get lots of tattoos. Not a mean bias, mind you, I just have the possibly naive image of my mind of certain tattooed / alternative culture people being sexually liberated even though I know tattoos are common among common people. I don't really know how to evaluate a tattoo place to know if the risk of this is significant or not.

d.  I guess I misunderstand "outline on the scars". If he just draws a black outline around each scar, isn't that just like marking exactly where the scars are and making them even more visible? Are you just straight up blacking the scars out with the hope they will look like your hair or your skin color or something?

e. There's this risk/benefit game of going external tibias (being more miserable during lengthening + more likely get a pin infection) but possibly decreasing the odds of permanent knee pain from an internal nail in the tibia (assuming someone has already done internal femurs). It's tough, I'm not sure which dice is better to roll. Do you have any thoughts on stryde tibias vs illazarov frame tibias + scar removal surgery/tattoos in this scenario?

f. After you got the scar removal surgery, what were the products/treatments like for the scars from the scar removal surgery? It sounds like funny wording, but I mean it. I guess did you use gels and scar sheets after getting the scars removed?

g. How much did the scar removal surgery cost you? It was just on your tibias right? I guess it would be different if someone did internals on both femur and tibia

Thanks, Medium!!!!

[Medium Drink Of Water]

a. What specific kind of doctor did you see (was he really a burn specialist?)/ what was the kind of treatment you got from him? I'm trying to figure out how to find the right doctor and how to ask him for the right treatment.

The first doctor I went to was a plastic surgeon.  Based on his website, he seemed to specialize in things to do with skin, such as liposuction (and removing the excess flaps after), breast implants, tissue expansion, etc.  The treatment I got is called excision.  It means the scars are cut out and then a smaller scar is left in their place.

b. Did you get a concealing tattoo? How'd it go/how often do you need to go back to the tattoo guy to get a touchup? I heard that black/grey will not fade as much over time but they all pretty much need a touchup.

No, but I might in the future.  Tattoos will last a long time, so touchups would be very infrequent.

c. Oddly enough, when I think of tattoos I am somewhat afraid of getting a bloodborne disease from it like Hepatitis, possibly out of bias towards certain cultures of people who get lots of tattoos. Not a mean bias, mind you, I just have the possibly naive image of my mind of certain tattooed / alternative culture people being sxxually liberated even though I know tattoos are common among common people. I don't really know how to evaluate a tattoo place to know if the risk of this is significant or not.

Instagram is a good resource.  Tattoo artists and shops love to use Instagram since it's picture-based social media they can use to show their work.  Find a shop or artist near you with lots of followers.  It means they have a good reputation to uphold and won't want to jeapordize it by cutting corners on sterilization.

d.  I guess I misunderstand "outline on the scars". If he just draws a black outline around each scar, isn't that just like marking exactly where the scars are and making them even more visible? Are you just straight up blacking the scars out with the hope they will look like your hair or your skin color or something?

Think of a coloring book.  When you buy it, it starts out as black lines on the paper.  Then you use your crayons to fill in the gaps between the lines.  That is how tattoos are created.  First, the artist creates the lines of the entire picture with a thin needle that goes really deep: this is called "outline" in the tattoo business.  Next, the artist fills in the gaps between the "outlines": this is called "shading" in the tattoo business.  "Shading" isn't as deep, doesn't last as long, and isn't as good at covering a linear scar.

The scars from LL are lines anyway.  So it makes sense to have the deep, dark "outline" part of the tatoo be on the scars.

To illustrate, look at this Foo Dog tattoo:

This is the first session, in which the outline was completely done.  If you're getting a tattoo to conceal your scars, they should already be covered by this point in the process:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFiv3XF_h4/

All of this colored ink that's now been added in the following image won't conceal the scars very well.  It's shading, which is applied in a non-linear way and not as deep.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BffLVsRF5YG/

In short, get any design you want as long as the outline part of the tattoo is what's concealing the scar, because shading won't conceal it as well.  That's what matters.

e. There's this risk/benefit game of going external tibias (being more miserable during lengthening + more likely get a pin infection) but possibly decreasing the odds of permanent knee pain from an internal nail in the tibia (assuming someone has already done internal femurs). It's tough, I'm not sure which dice is better to roll. Do you have any thoughts on stryde tibias vs illazarov frame tibias + scar removal surgery/tattoos in this scenario?

Not really, I just got the best surgery I could afford at the time.  It seems like the more money you spend and the more time you spend, the better your result will be, so yeah there's that risk/benefit, pro/con game we all need to do on our own since our circumstances are unique.

f. After you got the scar removal surgery, what were the products/treatments like for the scars from the scar removal surgery? It sounds like funny wording, but I mean it. I guess did you use gels and scar sheets after getting the scars removed?

I didin't think those would make much of a difference, so I mostly didn't bother with them.  I think I might've tried one made out of onion extract and wasn't impressed with it.

g. How much did the scar removal surgery cost you? It was just on your tibias right? I guess it would be different if someone did internals on both femur and tibia

The 16 Ilizarov pin scars cost $5000 to remove.  I went to the burn specialist to do the tibia break scars, which were the worst ones, that the plastic surgeon didn't even want to operate on.  They needed repeated excisions because they kept spreading apart gradually.  I actually injured the left one about a year ago and spent another $400 to go back there and get it stitched up.   Probably at least $8000 total since "finishing" LL.

[CodyTheDog]

The first doctor I went to was a plastic surgeon.  Based on his website, he seemed to specialize in things to do with skin, such as liposuction (and removing the excess flaps after), breast implants, tissue expansion, etc.  The treatment I got is called excision.  It means the scars are cut out and then a smaller scar is left in their place.
 No, but I might in the future.  Tattoos will last a long time, so touchups would be very infrequent.
 Instagram is a good resource.  Tattoo artists and shops love to use Instagram since it's picture-based social media they can use to show their work.  Find a shop or artist near you with lots of followers.  It means they have a good reputation to uphold and won't want to jeapordize it by cutting corners on sterilization.
 Think of a coloring book.  When you buy it, it starts out as black lines on the paper.  Then you use your crayons to fill in the gaps between the lines.  That is how tattoos are created.  First, the artist creates the lines of the entire picture with a thin needle that goes really deep: this is called "outline" in the tattoo business.  Next, the artist fills in the gaps between the "outlines": this is called "shading" in the tattoo business.  "Shading" isn't as deep, doesn't last as long, and isn't as good at covering a linear scar.

The scars from LL are lines anyway.  So it makes sense to have the deep, dark "outline" part of the tatoo be on the scars.

To illustrate, look at this Foo Dog tattoo:

This is the first session, in which the outline was completely done.  If you're getting a tattoo to conceal your scars, they should already be covered by this point in the process:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFiv3XF_h4/

All of this colored ink that's now been added in the following image won't conceal the scars very well.  It's shading, which is applied in a non-linear way and not as deep.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BffLVsRF5YG/

In short, get any design you want as long as the outline part of the tattoo is what's concealing the scar, because shading won't conceal it as well.  That's what matters.
Not really, I just got the best surgery I could afford at the time.  It seems like the more money you spend and the more time you spend, the better your result will be, so yeah there's that risk/benefit, pro/con game we all need to do on our own since our circumstances are unique.
 I didin't think those would make much of a difference, so I mostly didn't bother with them.  I think I might've tried one made out of onion extract and wasn't impressed with it.
 The 16 Ilizarov pin scars cost $5000 to remove.  I went to the burn specialist to do the tibia break scars, which were the worst ones, that the plastic surgeon didn't even want to operate on.  They needed repeated excisions because they kept spreading apart gradually.  I actually injured the left one about a year ago and spent another $400 to go back there and get it stitched up.   Probably at least $8000 total since "finishing" LL.

Thank you!!!!!