Scar Revision

Scars are always a problem, and trying to improve them through scar revision could always make them worse! This is why I do not like performing scar revisions.

Scar revision is the simple process of making the scar and area numb with local anesthetic shots, removing the scar, repairing the resulting wound in the best way we know how, and allowing the wound to heal again. This may leave an improved scar, but it will take many months before the scar becomes flat and loses its redness. All of this healing will take a minimum of three months, often longer for the scar tissue to soften and mature into its best ultimate form.

So, scar revision, though simple, takes many months to resolve, and you can never know whether it is worth it until after it is all done.

Most of the value for scar revision is the ability to change the direction of a scar, or take the tension off a scar; these changes can dramatically reduce the size of a scar. But there again, the more you do, the greater the benefit and the greater the risk.

Sometimes actually removing the scar is not necessary. Injections of cortisone, silicone, and mineral oil gel applications, along with simple pressure, can greatly benefit some scars.