Scar Treatment Procedures

No scar can be completely removed. They will always leave behind a trace, but a number of procedures can improve their appearance.

Surgery
Surgery will never completely remove a scar but can be used to alter its location or shape to make it less noticeable. Surgery is at times necessary to remove a scar on skin near a joint where it restricts movement, but it will leave another scar.

Laser surgery & resurfacing
The use of laser on scars is still on an experimental phase, as the safety or effectiveness has not yet been proven.

Steroid injections
A course of steroid injections into the scar may help flatten and soften the appearance of keloid or hypertrophic scars.

Z-Plasty
Z-plasty is a surgical technique used to relocate a scar so that it more closely matches to the natural creases of the skin, where it will be less noticeable. In this procedure, the old scar is removed and new incisions are made on each side, creating small triangular flaps of skin.

Skin grafting
Grafting involves the transfer of skin from a healthy part of the body to cover the injured area. All grafts leave some scarring at the donor and recipient sites.

Make sure that your expectations from any surgery are realistic. You cannot expect that old scars will completely disappear; however, they will always turn flatter, paler and softer.