treatyourscars Scars on the skin are difficult to avoid, but can be less noticeable if properly treated. Scarring is a natural occurrence after surgery and scarring can help strengthen the tissue and heal quicker. There are several techniques that can be used to heal scars and incisions.
Using Silicone Products
Silicone products such as silicone foils and gels can hydrate and help heal scars. The use of 100% silicone gel has been shown to reduce redness, improve the texture of scars, form a seal, retain moisture in the scar and promote greater flexibility. Cut a silicone film the size of your scar and apply it to the scar.
Silicone is recommended to minimize hypertrophic scars (thick pink scars). Silicone foils and adhesive tape which can be found in dressings and first aid departments in many shops can be cut by themselves after showering and removed and applied to the scar again after washing. Nicotine can restrict the blood flow to the incision and prevent important cells from entering the area that needs healing.
When your skin heals, scars form, and this is a natural part of the healing process. Dermatologists have tips on how to reduce the occurrence of scars from injuries such as a skinned knee or deep scratches.
If your skin is injured in an accident or surgery, your body works hard to repair the wound. Scars from operations on joints such as knees or elbows are difficult to avoid but scars from minor cuts and scratches can still be felt at home after the wound is treated.
If you plan any type of surgery, optional or not, I urge you to read these scar care tips from my own patients before your procedure to help you take steps for optimal scar care. There is no guarantee of how the scars will appear when they heal, but the following instructions are essential to achieve optimal results.
Scar Massage
The scar massage is important to allow your incision to mature into a soft, non-problematic scar. Massage can help promote collagen conversion, increase moisture and suppleness and reduce itching.
Your surgeon will tell you when it is OK to start scar massage, which usually begins two weeks after the operation. In the first phase of scar healing, the incision may be tender, red and swollen. Surgical scars can take up to 2 years to fade and weak lines can remain at the point of the incision, but in many cases these lines are barely noticeable without careful examination.
Patients who follow these rules will not end up with scar complications, such as hypertrophic scars characterized by elevated red margins, keloids or elevated scars that grow beyond normal margins.
Once the scar has completed the healing process, it should be bright, smooth and no longer sensitive to touch. Fresh, healed scars that are pink, red, raised, thick or sensitive should be protected from light or sunlight and darkened in the process. Scars that are darkened or disfigured can be treated in many cases with laser or non-surgical treatments.
Theoretically, the scars begin to fade during the late reconstruction or maturation phase when the collagen fibers realign. For this reason, we do not know what the scar looks like in the scare until 6 to 12 months later total.
As a patient, there are certain things you can do to reduce scarring, speed up healing and steer your course through a scar that looks like a scar.
Whether it is rough and falling on the pavement or a deep cut from a kitchen knife, the likelihood that you will suffer scars during the healing process is very high. The same scar risk that with surgery depends on how competent your surgeon is, but he or she can’t control factors such as age, race, genetics, chronic diseases, or the size and depth of your scar that all can affect your healing. What can control scarring after surgery is how to heal what differs from person to person.
There is always a risk of scarring if you have a deep incision or a precise surgical incision. A combination of factors such as age, skin quality, genetics and chronic disease can predispose you to a thicker scar than someone with flawless surgical technique – a fact that can be frustrating for both patient and surgeon. As surgeons we cannot control these factors, so surgical scars and the way they heal different depends on each individual.
The truth is that every cut has a 100% chance of scarring. Your goal is to make the scar as small as possible, but there are many things that can affect how the scar looks. It is important to know that the scar will continue to change during the healing process.
The same goes for surgery, cosmetic surgery and surgeon’s skills. There are many things that affect what will look like a scar, some of which are within our control and many other factors that are not.
In general, the scars remain thin and the color almost exactly corresponds to the surrounding skin, so that in fair-haired people the scars fade over time. Those with dark skin will notice that their scars are darker than the surrounding tissue. Another advantage of aging is that imperfections that occur over time, such as sun damage, help hide scars more visible in younger skin.
Keloid scars are the most problematic type of scars and can occur in the family. Thick, pink keloid scars extend beyond the boundary of the original incision or injury.
Using Paper Tapes
Paper tapes such as Micropore 3M, St. Paul Tape or Steri-Strip 3M can be placed over the cutting line. It prevents the wound from stretching, reduces tension at the edge of the wound, and minimizes shear forces .
It also has the added advantage of preventing excessive scar formation, reducing the volume of scars, keeping the wound moist and minimizing the formation of scabs. The paper tape provides compared to silicone foils similar results in terms of postoperative scar image.
Final Thoughts
Scars are inevitable after surgery, and the incision will eventually heal and form scars. You can do a lot to make the surgical scars fade and in many cases, you will not notice the point of the surgical scar as it was once.
