Some scars, especially when raised, may be improved with dermabrasion and laser resurfacing. These are methods our surgeons use to make “rough or elevated” scars less prominent, by removing part of the upper layers of skin with an abrading tool or laser light. The scar will remain, but should be smoother and less visible.

How to Get Rid of Keloids

Keloids, or hypertrophic scars, are often treated first with injection of medications like steroids to reduce size. Keloids are a thick raised scar that occurs when you have a skin injury or from piercings. If the injections are is unsatisfactory, the scars can be removed surgically, and the incisions closed with fine stitches, often resulting in less prominent scars. 

For scars that cover large areas of skin—for example, a burn scar—a surgeon may use a reconstructive technique, such as skin expansion, to allow for replacement of the burn scar with normal skin. In skin expansion, surgeons first implant a small balloon beneath healthy skin next to the scar. In the weeks before surgery to remove the scar, the balloon is slowly filled with saline water during office visits to expand the healthy skin. Then, when performing surgery to remove the scar, the surgeons use this expanded skin to replace the damaged or burned skin. The new skin heals naturally.

You can expect to feel some discomfort after scar-revision surgery. Some degree of swelling, bruising, and redness is expected in the early phase of healing. It is important for you to follow your surgeon’s after-care recommendations to the letter. Though the sutures will be removed within days after the surgery, your skin needs time to heal. Patients are encouraged to decrease activity after surgery and to keep the wound elevated when lying down, to use cold compresses to reduce swelling, and to avoid any activity that places undue stress on the area of the incision.

It is important to remember that no matter how bad a scar looks, it usually can be made to look better. Scar revision treatment results can take a year or longer to mature.