When healthy skin undergoes traumatic injury, disease or surgery, scar tissue can form as your wound heals.
Though helpful, this process can cause changes in your appearance: scars can vary in size, shape and color, and can distort parts of the face like your eyes, lips and brows. Scar revision surgery can help remedy these issues.
“With today’s surgical techniques, revision surgeries have a great track record of success,” says Dr. Heidi Harrington, a board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic surgeon at Beaufort Memorial Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics. “They offer a number of benefits that can help you feel more comfortable in your own skin.”
Scar Revision Surgery Uses and Procedure
Scar revision surgery helps correct many types of scars, including:
- Atrophic scars — These are indented scars covered in thin skin. Acne scars are a common type of atrophic scarring.
- Hypertrophic scars — Instead of being flush with your skin, these scars are raised. This thick, elevated scarring stays within the injured area.
- Keloid scars — Like hypertrophic scars, these scars sit higher than the surrounding skin. Unlike hypertrophic scars, this scarring stretches past the affected area.
When using cosmetic surgery to treat scars, the surgeon first removes excess scar tissue. Next, the surgeon typically makes a couple of small incisions on either side of the scar. This produces V-shaped skin flaps that create a less obvious scar.
Larger scars may require skin grafts during revision surgery. For this procedure, the surgeon transfers healthy skin, fat, blood vessels, nerves and muscle from one part of your body to the scarred area. If the grafting procedure leaves undesired scarring, the National Institutes of Health states that additional procedures may be necessary to create the desired result.
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Benefits Scar Revision Surgery Offers
There are several reasons to undergo scar revision surgery. It can help you feel more confident, move past scar-related pain and regain use of the body part affected by scarring.
Benefit 1: Improved Appearance and Confidence
Scars can leave you feeling self-conscious and uncomfortable. You may experience mental health symptoms that include:
- Anxiety or depression
- Desire to avoid social settings or intimacy
- Embarrassment or shame
Procedures such as facial scar revision surgery can diminish the appearance of scars. These procedures can correct discoloration, abnormal texture and other aesthetic issues. While helping to restore a more natural appearance, surgery can simultaneously have a positive effect on mental health.
“Plastic surgeons are specially trained to help you feel more comfortable and confident in your skin,” Dr. Harrington says. “That training comes out in everything we do, from face lifts and breast augmentation to scar revision surgery.”
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Benefit 2: Reduced Pain
Scars caused by surgery or traumatic injuries (such as burns) can cause pain. Depending on your specific case, your pain may:
- Cause a slight itching sensation
- Result in extreme, lasting pain when touched lightly
When other treatment methods, such as corticosteroid injections, are ineffective, scar revision surgery may help. In some cases, the plastic surgeon may perform neurolysis or neurectomy, which involves surgically addressing nerve issues that could be contributing to your pain. This can help reduce your pain even more if appropriate.
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Benefit 3: Regained Use of Affected Limbs
Healthy, normal skin contains elastin, proteins that help your skin stretch and return to its original position. Scar tissue may be stiff and can lack elasticity. As a result, some scar tissue may not stretch properly. This is known as scar contracture.
“Contractures can be stiff areas that are difficult to stretch. You may have a hard time moving or using the affected area,” Dr. Harrington says. “While this isn’t a big deal in some areas, it can limit your mobility and range of motion if the scar is on a joint or other area that you depend on to perform daily activities.”
By removing contractured tissue, your plastic surgeon helps you regain function of the affected limb. After scar revision surgery, you may be better able to raise your arm, bend your knee and perform other tasks that were made difficult or even impossible due to your scar.
Timing Your Scar Revision Surgery
If a scar limits your range of motion, causes pain or makes you feel self-conscious, you may be a good candidate for scar revision surgery. Before heading to the operating room, your surgery team may check your scar’s stage. Mature scars are the best candidates for surgery.
“It’s important to remember that scars take time to mature,” Dr. Harrington says. “While other treatment options can treat scars early on, scar revision surgery is reserved for mature scars.”
A mature scar has passed through the healing stages, a process that typically takes around 12 to 18 months. Sometimes, a plastic surgeon performs scar revision surgery earlier than 12 months. Reasons for this may include:
- Extreme deformity caused by the scar
- Loss of function that leads to significant disability
By working with your care team, you can determine the best time for corrective surgery.
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The Basics About Scar Revision
When your body’s healing process results in unwanted scarring, scar revision surgery can bring relief.
- To correct atrophic, hypertrophic or keloid scars, a plastic surgeon removes scar tissue and creates a less obvious scar. If necessary, skin grafts help cover large scars.
- Undergoing this outpatient procedure can lead to a renewed sense of confidence and improved mental well-being.
- When scars cause pain or limited mobility, corrective plastic surgery can bring relief and improved function.
Call 843-707-8020 or request a plastic surgery consultation online.
