Removing Keloid Scars
The skin is the largest organ of the human body, and it can be a finicky customer. When injured, the skin will create a scar, but how that scar develops, its coloring, its size, and other factors can’t be determined. Occasionally a scar becomes a keloid scar and grows bigger and wider than the original injury. Dr. Moskovitz has removed hundreds of keloid scars over his career, and can help make your scar much less noticeable. This is called scar revision surgery.
Patience at first
Scars usually are at their ugliest early on after the injury. Most scars become less noticeable with time. Plus, Dr. Moskovitz can treat some scars with steroids to relieve tenderness and itching, and to possibly shrink them.
Because of these factors, Dr. Moskovitz recommends waiting for a year or even longer after your injury before you decide to have scar revision surgery.
Keloid scars
Keloid scars are thick, puckered, itchy clusters of scar tissue that extend beyond the edges of the original wound or incisions. They are often red or darker in color than the adjacent skin. Keloids develop when the body continues to produce collagen in the area of the injury after a wound has already healed.
Keloid scars are more common in darker-skinned people, and they are most common on the breastbone, on the earlobes, and on the shoulders.
What causes a keloid scar to form?
Keloid scars form where the skin is damaged, such as from a surgical cut, a piercing, a burn, chickenpox, or severe acne. Thick tissue grows up and out from the original healing area, making the scar more obvious than the original wound or injury. Keloid scars are rare on light-colored skin, however. This makes experts believe that keloids are linked to a gene that is linked to dark skin pigment.
Surgical revision
In revision surgery, the scar tissue is cut out. How this is done involves different approaches. Sometimes simply cutting the scar out and closing the incision with tiny stitches vastly reduces the scar. Other times, Dr. Mostovitz uses Z-plasty, a surgical technique used to reposition a scar so that it more closely conforms to the natural lines and creases of the skin, where it will be less noticeable. In Z-plasty, the old scar is removed and new incisions are made on each side, creating small triangular flaps of skin. These flaps are then rearranged to cover the wound at a different angle, creating a “Z” pattern. More complicated options are skin grafts and flap surgery.
If you choose to have scar revision, the experience of your surgeon is paramount to the quality of your results. Trust the experience of Dr. Moskovitz to minimize your scar. Call us at 201-225-1101 to schedule a consultation.
