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Scars are caused as a result of wounds due to injury and accident, or illness or operation. After a wound heals either normally or after an operation, sometimes it leaves a scar behind. The resultant scar may depend on the type of skin or the type of the operation and the body’s capability to heal fast. Sometimes the scar left behind in an operation or injury may be worse than the original wound. This resultant scar may be reddish or blackish; it may be part of the skin or become raised and unsightly. It may be rough or blotched and may cause embarrassment or revulsion in the owner. Some scars tend to be puckered and some may affect the internal nerves making it difficult for the person to have normal movements. These scars are called contractures. The severity of the scar depends on the size and depth of the wound, the color of the skin, the blood supply to that part and many other such variables and it is difficult to know why a scar develops the way it does.
Scar revision makes it possible to remove scars and make the skin as normal as possible. Though total removal of scars may not be possible, a good plastic surgeon can make it almost invisible to the naked eye through various operations and procedures. There are many types of scars and their treatment depends on the type of scar. Some scars tend to disappear with time though a faint shadow may still remain. Some may be lessened by the use of some medicines or ointments. But tough scars need to be operated to remove them. Only a qualified and experienced doctor should be approached while considering scar revision. The risks are there that the resultant scar may be worse than the original.
Some scars may be removed by injecting medicines like steroids directly into the scar. Anesthetizing the area and cutting the scar tissue and replacing it with a skin graft or specially cultivated skin tissue may remove some. Z grafting is a technique in which the incisions are made along the natural lines of the body, removing the scar tissue and suturing the wound with very fine stitches, which after healing, will not leave a scar behind. Skin grafting and flap surgery are also techniques of scar revision, which give fairly good results. However in skin grafting, both the donor and the recipient areas may have faint scars. It is possible to have scar revisions and get the skin back to as normal as possible. |
