Question:

My daughter had a car accident 10 months ago and has a terrible scar from her chin and around her jaw line. She was taken to our nearest major hospital and I requested a specialist to treat her scar. I don't know who the surgeon was but the scar is now very raised and we have been regularly going back to the hospital seeing the maxillofacial doctors. There was no fracture involved just the cuts to her face.

They are now talking about doing scar revision and steroid injections. Should a plastic surgeon being doing this? Are maxillofacial surgeons the right people to be doing this? She is 19 years old and this has had a huge impact on her confidence. Can you tell me who is the best surgeon for fixing these types of scars? We have private health insurance and obviously want to help her as much as we can.

Answer:

All scars will go through a phase when they are healing of being red and thick. The answer is to leave the scar to mature for at least six months and see if the thickening resolves. In some cases if the thickening does not resolve a keloid or hypertrophic scar can occur. The treatment for this is non-surgical or surgical.

Non-surgical scar revision involves corticosteroid injections and silicone and this can be performed by any doctor who is confident in this type of treatment. Surgical scar revision will involve surgically removing the scar and re-suturing the wound and is usually the realm of plastic surgery, though any surgeon can perform a surgical scar revision if they are well trained and confident with the technique.

If you have concerns though seeking the opinion of a plastic surgeon may be beneficial to ensure you are confident with the surgeon who performs the treatment.

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