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Burns, accidents, infections and other such happenings result in wounds, which may have to be surgically repaired. After the surgical procedure when the wound heals, some scar will always remain. It depends on the severity of the wound, the medicines used during the surgery, the sutures that complete the wound and the person’s skin type and healing process. Scars that result from a surgical process may be light and fade away after some time. Or else they may be rough and tough and look ugly and repulsive. Sometimes they result in depression at the site of the wound. Sometimes the muscles are affected which may change the appearance of the person and his appearance.
Such surgical scars may have to be revised and the skin brought back to as normal as possible. There are various ways of treating surgical scars. The strategy selected is based on a proper evaluation of the scar. Its color, texture, thickness, position, type are studied along with the type of skin around the scar. And depending on these evaluations, the surgical scar can be revised. Patients should be realistic enough to realize that scars can never disappear completely but they can be operated and treated to make them more pleasing and less repulsive. The surgeon should make it clear that the attempt to revise the scar would improve it but not make it go away. Scalpel based surgery is the main method of scar revision. However lasers can also be utilized for good results. Injections of steroids or some suitable material can also improve the appearance of the scar.
The doctor would normally advise the patient to wait for a period of about a year after the surgery to see whether the scar will lighten naturally. Some external applications of some gels or ointments will also be tried. If these fail then steroids can be injected directly. As a last resort surgery again at the area of the scar will be employed. A knife will remove the thick tough skin or the scar and the wound stitched in such a way that there is a minimum of scar tissue remaining. The doctor should closely monitor the progress of the healing so that the scar does not reappear with the same intensity and ferocity as before. If care is taken and the second incision monitored, scar reappearance may be avoided though total disappearance of the scar need not be expected. |
