I was looking at the photos from "Devil" and it looks like James Roday has a big old scar on his chest. Thoughts.

Oh, wow!!! yeah it does look like it is a scar!!! i wonder what happened

it is a scar.

a girl from make-a-wish got a set visit when they were filming high noon-ish and in her blog she said that james roday has a pacemaker. so that scar is from the surgery to put it in.

we don't know more about it and james hasn't addressed it so we just kind of let it go and wonder about it secretly. lol

so yeah, there is a scar, james has a pacemaker, we don't know anything else so we pretend it doesnt exist!

Yes, he has a pacemaker but those scars tend to be on the left side directly above the heart. I know someone who has one. It appears that James has had surgery, though.

He's never addressed it, but obviously he is comfortable enough to wear things like that where he knows it's visible. Honestly, it's really not any of our business, but we're all just glad that he's okay

Scars for pacemakers look different (and you can typically see the hockey puck-sized (or smaller) battery clearly in outline under the skin). Maybe he had his pacemaker installed in a less obvious spot, who knows. Still, pacemakers need to be replaced after a certain amount of time (~10 years, although newer ones can be "recharged" through the skin), & that scar looks like it's been around for more than 10 yrs. There are several "fixable" congenital heart/ aorta problems, so maybe James had one of those when he was a kid. In interviews, he's talked about playing sports when younger, so he probably had relatively "normal" health as a kid. I would love to hear if he's ever discussed the origin of his chest scar, but glad to see that he's lived a pretty healthy life after that (supposed) surgery.

I have a scar just like that only it's a little longer and a bit thinner. It's from the open heart surgery I had when I was 5. Whatever he had done he had it a long time ago. The incisions they make now are much smaller and look much better after.

Wow, I totally didn't know that. I don't mean to pry, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy and that actually is a scar. Thanks for all the info.

James is entitled to his privacy and I respect that he went through something very traumatic, because he has a large scar on his chest from open heart surgery. That being said, as some folks on this board are aware, I have a Bachelor's Degree in nursing.

IMO, the surgery took place relatively recently, probably before he first auditioned for Psych. When I rewatch early Season One episodes, James looks positively unhealthy, especially compared to now. He's obviously working out now, keeping fit, whereas pre-Psych, not so much. He was too thin in Season One.

The size of the scar tells me that James had the surgery as an adult, and not as a child. Furthermore, there are shirtless pics of James from both 2002 & 2003 and he is definitely scarless. Therefore, the surgery occurred somewhere between 2003 and 2006.

As far as the scar not being that obvious, I'm sure that Psych's makeup people do their magic with James' scar when he wears an open-necked shirt.

Now comes the technical part. Pacemakers are commonly placed in a small pocket of skin on the chest, and the pacemaker is then visible afterward as a raised lump under the skin. However, there is an alternative placement that can be done for cosmetic reasons (If, for example, the person having the pacemaker placed is an actor :-). If you want further information, Google 'Retropectoral Transaxillary Placement of a Permanent Pacemaker.'

I thought y'all might appreciate some visual evidence.

Repli*Kate, 2002


Rolling Kansas, 2003


Miss Match, 2003 - Not a full-on chest view, but I included this one just because

was wondering about this for a lil while, but with in the last season and the one before it i started noticeing that james started looking different then he used to. but i couldnt place it, then i realized that it was b/c before he'd always had a t shirt on under his button downs, one of the crew neck kind. could this possibly have been to cover the scar? like maybe before he was insecure about it or somethin, but now hes chill? just a thought

As A nurse and a member of the scars are sexy group, I'd like to say who cares as to why he has the scar and just pretend i was able to trace it... LOL:)

So yea... i'm gonna go find a cold shower now... darn scars...

The whole time I was reading this I was thinking about the scene in Earth Wind and Wait for it when Shawn has that thing in the evidence bag and he's like "Eww! They make those for men?"

Thanks for the information. It's good to have a nurs on the board .
I never notice the scar until now (it's probably because I always look on his amazing eyes and usually on the show he's wearing a shirt under the shirt, so you can't see it).

You'r right - in the pilot and in the first episode (Spellingg Bee) James looking really good, but then he started to look bad and along the length most of season he seem very thin (and don't kill me, but I didn't like his look at all in this season) ,but when the second season start something about him changed and he started to look like the James that we all love so much, so maybe the surgery take plas doing the break between the two seasons. All so, I think that he started to exercise about this time.
He talks about it in here (it's the interview from the beginning of season 4 that you can find on this site as well) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vy_bb-qW7o

When a fan ask him about his "downtime" he talk about his workout and that it's bring him peace.

I think he was talking about his "fantasy" workout (ie, fantasy football ). But he has definitely bulked up over the last year or 2. He looks maybe 30 or so pounds heavier now (& much better) than Season 1. Hope he doesn't get too much more defined - that will certainly take away from the boyishness.

The thing about old images of him from movies/ shows: make-up &/ or editing can do some wild cover up magic. If he had the surgery "recently," then it was likely either due to an emergency (ie, not concerned with aesthetics), large scale, or he forms keloid (large) scars very easily. Otherwise, it's likely to be a younger age of surgery. Guess we'll never know until he talks.

Huh. I never noticed. o.o

Well, obviously I hate when someone's gone through something very traumatic to receive a scar, but... I do like them for some reason. I sort of find them... admirable? I'm not sure exactly how to describe it. I mean, sure, they can be embarrassing at times, but I think they stand as a sort of badge of honor saying, "I fought and I won." Most, anyway. In any case, just glad that James is healthy, happy and hilarious. That's all you can really ask for. :3

I used to be really self-conscious of my own surgery scar, but now that I've grown used to it as a part of my life I practically show it off. *chuckle* Maybe he feels somewhat similar? *shrug*


Also, thanks for the pics. Heh. ♥

I suppose that you'r right, there is a tendency to forget the scars that on your body.
I have a scar on the elbow from operation that I have 10 years ago, when I smash my elbow. Today I hardly remember it's there, but when I go with a shirt with short sleeves people can see her and ask me about it, and than I remember that it still there.
James's scar, because it's on his chest, we general do not see her (though recently, because I know now that it's there, I see her sometimes).

people look at scars in different ways. I have one on my forehead along the hair line (near my temple) that came from a long drawn out fight between the bicycle, myself, and a rocky pavement road.... that one is not seen easily but when noticed i wear that cross with honor!

then i have my surgical scars, one is a hernia repair from when i was 14... I will always despise that scar though it is uber well hidden 99.9999999999% of the time, only showable IF i allow it. same as the other 4 scars i have that are surgical. (gallbladder surgery laparoscpic)

I have a few more rediculous ones, that don't bare mentioning but I do have, from stupid accidents to somewhat self inflicted. All of which make up my past...HoweveR my point, which is somewhat elduing me is that if I wanted you to know I'd tell you. our dear James probably feels the same. a sternal scar generally points to something big (open heart surgery is the only thing i can come up with on the top of my head, or perhaps some lung surgery?) The fact that it is a white scar, and not purplish in hue, nor is it an angry red, means that it is many years old.

Lets just be happy that he's appears as healthy as a horse today, and more than willing to make us laugh on a weekly and sometimes bi-monthly showing during each 1/2 season we get

I hope I didn't bore you, nor step on any toes

I see there are some new posters here since I last visited. I appreciate every single inch of James Roday from head to toe, scars and all. This pic was posted a while back on another thread:

This is a cropped bit from a much larger publicity still for 'Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark.'
IMO, the scar is a badge of honor. James has fought whatever war took place within his body and come out victorious.
The man looks good, scar or no scar.

EDIT: Wow, that came out much larger than I thought. I was going to shrink it, but I reconsidered, because there is nothing offensive or embarrassing about this picture!

Don't worry - you didn't bore me, and I agree with most of what you said, so we cool

Here's a cap I found from Rolling Kansas that shows the scar.
I noticed it a long time ago and wondered. But yeah, I'm just
glad that at this stage in life, James is happy and healthy and also hot.