Plastic Surgery
Scar Treatments

Scars

Scars can include such things as marks, damages, blemishes, mutilations, scratches, wounds, burns, disfigurements and compromise in function. Scars are unfavorable results of surgery or injury. The scar is a result of the body’s repair mechanism after injury. The wound repair process produces fibrous tissue (common connective tissue of the body – collagen – composed of yellow or white parallel fibers) that will heal the wound with a permanent scar that can be acceptable or it may heal in an abnormal process, which could produce irregular scars such as:

  • Hypertrophic Scar – overproduction of collagen, which causes the scar to be raised above the surrounding skin and are frequently uncomfortable.
  • Keloid Scar – is a more serious form of hypertrophic scarring, because they can grow indefinitely into large itchy and painful scars.
  • Atrophic Scar – is usually thinner and takes the form of a sunken recess in the skin due injuries to the underlying tissues which are no longer available for support.
  • Scar Contractures – are scars that restrict movement due to pulling of the underlying tissues or structures that occurs during healing.

Plastic surgical scar treatment and revision surgery

Plastic surgical scar treatment and revision surgery is undertaken in and attempt to improve the irregular scar and make it more consistent with the surrounding topography, skin tone, texture and make it more cosmetically acceptable and with less impairment to function.

Scar treatment can consist of any of the following or combinations thereof:

  • Topical treatments such as moisturizing cream massages, sun block when exposed to any UV light, use of external compression, steroid cream applications or “bioCorneum” (http://orig.biocorneum.com/ ) an FDA product.
  • Minimally invasive procedures such as intra-lesional steroid injections in attempt to decrease the thickness of the scar complex and thus gain better topographical contours or synthetic fillers or fat transfer to improve the contours.
  • Surface Treatments – such as Dermabrasion to improve the surface of the skin, Chemical Peels to help soften irregulars in pigmentation and texture and Clinical Skin Care Treatments to lighten the irregular pigmentation.
  • Scarplasty – Plastic surgical revision of the scar with excision and closure with advanced techniques in wound care such as layered closure for support and a sub-cuticular closure to avoid any sutures marks in the skin surface. Sometimes skin grafting may be necessary or a skin flap to fill in an area or reposition a scar.