Scarring occurs after injury or trauma has been inflicted on multiple layers of skin. On the face, scarring can alter one’s appearance and even inhibit the functioning of facial features. Scars can also make you self conscious about your appearance, which results in even more negative implications for the patient. It is important to remember that scarring is an incredibly dynamic process and is unique to each individual injury. Thus, the treatment plan for each scar revision surgery varies immensely.

While the nature of the injury, accident, or trauma can result in many different types of scars, choosing a surgeon for your scar revision procedure is extremely important. Dr. Yang’s experience in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery as well as otolaryngology (ENT) allows him to not only provide a result that is aesthetically pleasing but also one that preserves the vital infrastructure of the facial features.

Scar Revision Candidate

In order to decipher who the best candidate for scar revision surgery is Dr. Yang must consult with the patient and discuss their expectations for the final results he or she wishes to achieve and how much improvement can be made with a Scar Revision procedure. Understanding the surgical implications involved in treating a scar is necessary to have realistic expectations for surgery. For patients with scarring from burns, for instance, the trauma caused to the skin, deeper layers of tissue and even muscle may cause contracture scarring and require an extensive procedure to restore function to area the area affected by the burn. Keloid scars, on the other hand, grow out of the inflicted site due to overproduction of collagen during scarring and need to be treated in a much different way.

Thus, because scars come in all shapes and sizes it’s crucial for Dr. Yang to ensure realistic expectations have been set. From there, depending on the nature of the scarring, a treatment plan will be devised to meet the goals of the patient.

About the Procedure

Like facial scarring itself, the techniques used to reduce the appearance of the scar and/or improve the loss of facial function due to scarring vary immensely. For patients with smaller scars, skin treatments may be a viable option to reduce the appearance of the scar and smooth the skin around the scar. Using microdermabrasion, dermaplaning, and laser resurfacing Dr Yang is able smooth elevated and rough scars. While the scar will not vanish completely, its size and appearance will decrease dramatically. For keloids and hypertrophic scars, steroid injections can be used to decrease the size. These scars can also be removed surgically resulting in much smaller, less prominent scar.

Another method used by Dr. Yang to lessen the appearance of facial scarring is know as a Z-plasty. During the Z-plasty procedure the scar is surgically manipulated, by way of folding or creasing, in the skin to make it appear less visible resulting in a smoother less noticeable scar. Dr. Yang performs more invasive techniques for patients with larger scars and scars that have caused decreased functioning of any facial feature.

For contracture type scarring, Dr. Yang utilizes a method that involves removing the tissue entirely. By replacing the scarred tissue with a skin flap, a piece of adjacent and healthy skin, Dr. Yang is able reduce the previous appearance of the scar to a small incision that will fade as the incision heals. If a skin flap is not possible, Dr. Yang may use a skin graft, a piece of healthy skin from another area. These methods require additional recovery time to allow blood vessels and other tissue form between the new skin and the area around it.

Recovery

Recovery time will vary hugely on what type of scar is being treated and the procedure performed by Dr. Yang to minimize the appearance the patient’s scar.  

Before and After Photos