You may consider having a type of surgery known as scar revision if you’ve had scarring due to an accident, surgery, or other cause. A scar is the tissue your body produces to heal a wound as a result of any injury to the skin or deeper structures. The Board Certified Plastic Surgeons at Premier Plastic Surgery have specialized training and extensive experience in minimizing scars anywhere on the face or body.

The main types of scars include the following:

• Discoloration, surface irregularities, scars resulting from minor trauma, acne scars, and prior surgical incision scars which can be treated with a number of non-surgical as well as surgical procedures such as topical medications, laser reduction (both resurfacing and fractional ablation), dermabrasion, surgical revision and scar reduction
• Hypertropic scars are thick, more prominent scar tissue that develops at the site of some wounds. They are often raised, red, may be uncomfortable, and they may become wider or thicker over time. They can be either hyperpigmented (darker in color) or hypopigmented (lighter in color)
• Keloids are even larger than hypertropic scars. They can be painful, itchy, and may cause surrounding skin contracture. They extend beyond the edges of an original wound or incision. Keloids can occur anywhere on your body, but they develop more commonly where there is little underlying fatty tissue, such as on the face, neck, ears, chest or shoulders. Keloids are more common in darker pigmented individuals. Keloids are often treated with multiple modalities including, but not limited to, radiation, and various injectable agents that reduce reformation of the scar
• Contractures are scars that restrict movement due to skin and underlying tissue that shorten or contract during healing. They commonly develop after deeper skin and underlying tissue injury such as after a burn. Contractures also can form where a wound crosses a joint, restricting movement of the fingers, elbows, knees or neck

It is important to note that scar revision non-surgical procedures or scar revision surgery can significantly improve the way the scar looks, but your surgeon can not remove the scar entirely or make it disappear. No scar can be taken off completely. Scar revision surgery can, however, make your scar much less noticeable, or less severe.

Your insurance company may cover costs related to a scar revision, especially if the scarring is the result of an injury or the scar causes a functional impairment.