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Cosmetic Surgery (Expert Forum)
Revising a scar - wait?
Answered by
Howard Rosenberg, MD - Cosmetic Surgery
Accent on Aesthetics Plastic Surgery Medical Center
Questions in the Cosmetic Surgery forum are answered by Dr. Howard Rosenberg. Topics include bariatric surgery reconstruction, breast augmentation, chemical peels, cosmetic or reconstructive surgery, face lift, nose reconstruction, and tummy tucks.
Revising a scar - wait?
by drarikku, Aug 29, 2009 05:50AM
Dear Sir,
I got a mole removed from the abdomen 3 months ago. Unfortunately the surgeon, probably due to lack of patient rather than of knowledge, created a vertical incision, perpendicular to the skin tension lines. The scar is 5 mm long and 2 mm wide (quite small, I know) but due to is verticality it does show a lot. Furthermore I was told to remove the stitches after 5 days. When I did, the skin opened a little bit and it ended up healing by second intention, what caused it to be hypertrophic. I massage with Cicalfate for 15 minutes twice day and apply Dermatix. I haven't noticed any difference in the last two months.
I was considering revising it, since due to its small size it would be easy to reposition it according to the skin tension lines. Should I wait 6 months or can I revise it already?
Thank you for you time.
I got a mole removed from the abdomen 3 months ago. Unfortunately the surgeon, probably due to lack of patient rather than of knowledge, created a vertical incision, perpendicular to the skin tension lines. The scar is 5 mm long and 2 mm wide (quite small, I know) but due to is verticality it does show a lot. Furthermore I was told to remove the stitches after 5 days. When I did, the skin opened a little bit and it ended up healing by second intention, what caused it to be hypertrophic. I massage with Cicalfate for 15 minutes twice day and apply Dermatix. I haven't noticed any difference in the last two months.
I was considering revising it, since due to its small size it would be easy to reposition it according to the skin tension lines. Should I wait 6 months or can I revise it already?
Thank you for you time.
Doctor's Answer
by Howard Rosenberg, MD, Aug 30, 2009 12:30AM
, Aug 30, 2009 12:30AM
There are a number of issues regarding your abdominal scar. First, while there may be some improvement of the scar with revision, abdominal scars are notoriously diffficult to improve. Second, I personally prefer to wait up nine months to one year from the date of injury to allow maximum scar maturation before undergtaking any revision to achieve the best possible result. Lastly,the final decision regarding revision as to appropriateness and timing should be made in conjuction with the surgeon undertaking the revision.
