Taking the Scar Out of Your Scar
- Posted on: Mar 15 2017
There is some misunderstanding about how human skin heals. But with just about anything other than a slight surface cut, a scar will form when the skin heals. Scar formation is just part of the healing process and it involves collagen.
Sometimes that healing gets a little funky and a scar forms that is much more noticeable than a typical scar, something like the red, raised angry look of keloid scars.
When you have a scar that you feel is too visible, you can opt for scar revision with Dr. Perron. Although no scar can be magically removed completely, he has the surgical expertise to vastly improve its appearance. To do so he may first try injections of steroids to minimize the scar. After that, it may come down to scar revision surgery.
Here is some information about common scars and possible revision approaches with Dr. Perron.
Patience at first
Scars usually are the ugliest early on after the injury. Most scars become less noticeable with time. Plus, Dr. Perron can treat some scars with steroids to relieve tenderness and itching, and to possibly shrink them.
That’s why you need to be patient with your scars. Dr. Perron recommends waiting for a year or even longer after your injury before you decide to have scar revision surgery.
Types of scars
Keloid scars
Keloid scars are thick, puckered, itchy clusters of scar tissue that extend beyond the edges of the original wound or incisions. They are often red or darker in color than the adjacent skin. Keloids develop when the body continues to produce collagen in the area of the injury after a wound has already healed.
Keloid scars are more common in darker-skinned people, and they are most common on the breastbone, on the earlobes, and on the shoulders.
Hypertrophic scars
Hypertrophic scars look like keloid scars with one important difference — they remain within the boundaries of the original wound or incision. Like keloid scars, they are thick, red, and raised. They often improve with time or with steroid injections.
Contractures
Burns or other injuries that create a loss of a large area of skin may form a scar that pulls the edges of the skin together. This process is called contraction and gives this scar its name, contracture. Contractures may affect the adjacent muscles and tendons, restricting normal range of motion and movement.
Surgical revision with Dr. Perron
In revision surgery, the scar tissue is cut out. How this is done involves the different approaches. Sometimes simply cutting the scar out and closing the incision with tiny stitches vastly reduces the scar. Other times, Dr. Perron uses Z-plasty, a surgical technique used to reposition a scar so that it more closely conforms to the natural lines and creases of the skin, where it will be less noticeable. In Z-plasty, the old scar is removed and new incisions are made on each side, creating small triangular flaps of skin. These flaps are then rearranged to cover the wound at a different angle, creating a “Z” pattern. More complicated options are skin grafts and flap surgery.
When it comes to scar revision surgery, the experience of your surgeon will weigh heavily in the success of your outcome. Trust the experience of Dr. Perron to make your scar much less noticeable. Call us at 403-228-7076 and let’s see how we can help.
Posted in: Scar Revision