scarfix

It is amazing sometimes to what extent advertising "muddies the waters" of plastic surgery. In the treatment of scars, this makes informing the prospective patient a hurdle at times. It's almost like a debriefing in my office. So let's go through some of what is known about scars and the circumstances under which they might be improved.

Scars of the skin are points at which the differences between previously wounded and unwounded skin become apparent. While they do in general improve with time, they are never converted into "normal skin." Scar tissue never attains the strength or color of normal skin. The differences between the two tissues therefore can be frequently seen. The treatment of scars is more likely to make these differences less obvious under several conditions.

The scar is wide. If the scar tissue is wide that often means that separation occurred between the two edges of the healing wound over the time over which the wound healed. A carefully planned operation called SCAR REVISION may offer some benefit here. The scar tissue is removed and the two edges of the wound are mobilized surgically and brought together to be closed in layers. This usually reduces the separation and the wound has another chance to heal. Dependent upon the quality of this healing, the scar may be improved.

The wound from which the scar formed is recent. In the first year or so after a wound is formed, healing has the best chance of improving the scar itself by a process called Re-modeling. Wound healing occurs in an optimal manner if the wound is appropriately handled in the first place, has little infection, and is kept from direct sunlight. Once the wound closes, scar tissue goes through stages. Some believe that the application of silicone sheeting (now available over-the-counter at drug stores) may help early scars to heal with less tissue distortion. This should be assisted by a physician in all but the simplest wounds as putting it on open or infected wounds can make things worse.

The scar is colored - In some individuals pigmented scars can be improved. This is a little more difficult unless the scar is wide or was poorly handled when the wound was first formed.