Surgical correction of skin scars
Scar retouching is a very frequent request for dermatological surgery that allows to improve the aesthetic result of an old scar.
A scar is the result of an incision on the skin. The incision can be unwanted (accident, injury) or on the contrary desired (surgery). The process of healing is the manufacture of skin tissue to “weld” the two edges of an incised skin. The skin cells manufacture a fibrous tissue to create an anatomical suture: the scar. The scar is therefore the mark left by the skin repair process.
This medical information sheet was written by Dr. ABBOU and Dr. PESSIS who are cosmetic surgeons in Paris. They regularly perform dermatologic surgery and scar retouching in both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery.
Before and after pictures
What is scar revision ?
Scar retouching is a surgical procedure of dermatological and plastic surgery that allows to improve the aesthetic and functional aspect of a scar
What are the objectives ?
- Improve the aesthetic appearance of the scar
- Improve the color of a scar
- Treat keloids scars
- Treat a retractile scar (after a burn for example)
Who is it for ?
What are the dangers?
- Bleeding
- Infection
- delayed healing and poor aesthetic result of the scar
What is the procedure?
Before retouching:
- Medical consultation for cosmetic surgery
- Anesthesia consultation if needed
- Smoking cessation
Course of the intervention:
The suites
The aftermath of the scar removal is simple with possible bruising for a few days and moderate pain.
The result improves from day to day during the first postoperative year.
Price for scar revision Paris
| Medical intervention | Price |
|---|---|
| Retouching of scars | From 300€ |
The questions most often asked by patients
Questions & Réponses
How to improve a scar?
A scar is often noticeable because it is an obvious straight line that your eye can easily follow. One of the principles of scar revision is to turn this straight line into a more discreet one so that your eye simply has trouble following the line even with close inspection. The second reason a scar is visible is because it is darker or lighter than the surrounding skin color. The darker color will fade over time, while a lighter colored incision line will likely need to be removed and re-sutured according to the proper principles of surgical revision.
What medical techniques can be used to touch up a scar?
- Surgical scarring in the most complicated cases with specialized surgical techniques (flaps, plastic surgery, etc.)
- Injection of corticoids to make it less visible.
- Injection of fat or lipofilling to flatten your scar if it is raised or has a hollow.
- Peelings to attenuate and reduce skin scars (e.g. acne etc…)
What are the factors for successful healing?
The quality of healing depends on several factors:
- Genetic factor: black, Asian or North African skin generally heals less well. Conversely, light skin with freckles often heals better.
- Age: children and the elderly heal very well. On the other hand, people undergoing hormonal changes (adolescents, pregnant women) heal less well.
- The mechanism of the skin opening: an incision made in the operating room in a sterile manner as part of an operation will often heal much better than an incision resulting from an accident
- The location of the scar: the back and the thorax are very bad areas for healing. Conversely, the face is a very good healing area.
Factors the patient can influence:
- Tobacco: patients who smoke heal less well
- Sun exposure
- Local care after the operation: massages, application of moisturizing
- creams
Factors the surgeon can influence:
- The type of sutures used: the type of sutures used (absorbable or not), the size of the sutures (thin or thicker), the type of sutures (external or internal).
- Scar tension: the greater the closure tension, the poorer the quality of the scar.
- Use of the Urgotouch laser
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