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Scar Revision in Toronto, Ontario

Although some scars naturally mature and fade over time, others can actually increase in size and worsen. Scars can exhibit various undesirable characteristics such as excessive width, raised or sunken appearance, irregular shape, or discoloration due to hypo- or hyper-pigmentation. If individuals are dissatisfied with their scar or if it causes significant irritation, they have the option of scar revision at the Canadian Plastic Surgery Centre. Dr. Chivers, during the consultation, will evaluate the scar and provide recommendations on the most suitable approaches to make it less noticeable.

Closeup view of a hypertrophic scar on skin

Who are candidates for a scar revision?

Candidates for scar revision are individuals who are in overall good health and have one or more scars that they find visually unappealing. Every scar is different, but candidates for scar revision usually have one of the following:

  • A scar that is excessively wide
  • A scar that is irregularly shaped
  • A scar that notably protrudes or is indented from the surrounding skin
  • A scar that is significantly lighter or darker in colour than the surrounding skin

Your scar revision procedure

Because scars are so different, there are multiple surgical procedures that Dr. Chivers uses to alter the scar’s appearance. The most common procedures include:

  • Re-excision - Cutting away of scar tissue and attempting to revise the scar to make it smaller or less noticeable in appearance.
  • Laser or Dermabrasion - Surgery that removes the outer layer of a scar and assists with de-pigmentation.
  • Skin grafts - Transfer of tissue from one place of the body to the scar area.
  • Tissue expansion - Surgical procedure that expands healthy tissue surrounding the scar in order to replace it.

Scar revision may also involve topical treatments and subdermal injections in order to adjust the colour and smoothness of the scar tissue:

  • Steroid injections - To assist with elevated, hypertrophic or keloidal scars reducing them in size.
  • Lightening creams - To assist with depigmentation.

Whatever the treatment used, the result is scar tissue that more closely resembles the surrounding skin.

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Your scar revision recovery

Scar revision is an outpatient surgery performed under local anesthesia. Unless the scar is on a part of the body that would interfere with daily activities, patients can usually return to work the day after the surgery.

For about one to two weeks, you will experience minor pain at the location of the surgery. Additionally, there will usually be some swelling, bruising and odd colouration during that time.

After the procedure, sunblock should be applied for at least 1 year to the incision to prevent pigmentation of the scar.

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