06/27/2024
What are scars?
Scars are your body’s response to a skin injury or surgical incision. The creation of a scar is a natural response. They can develop on the skin or underneath it.
Normal skin tissue is made up of a combination of collagen, responsible for the strength of the skin, and elastin which is responsible for the elasticity of skin. Scar tissue however, is pure collagen, making it very dense and firm. Despite this, scars are often fragile, requiring special care.
The longer a wound or incision takes to heal, the thicker a scar will be. A wound that takes over three weeks to heal will often become hypertrophic, which means the scar will grow higher and possibly beyond the scar’s original borders.
What can I do to help my scars?
I recommend scar massage to flatten and soften scar tissue. Not only does this help improve how the scar appears, it also decreases the discomfort associated with scarring.
As scars heal, they can be remodeled into a smoother, softer tissue but the scar tissue will always remain. Typically, a scars appearance can change for the better for about 12 months, before the tissue matures.
The photos shown are right after surgery and then a fully healed scar nearly a year out from surgery.
