Minimizing Scars

Minimizing scars involves several factors. This article provides tips for healing and reducing surgery scars after your procedure with Dr. Lundeby. Scar tissue forms as the skin heals from trauma, such as cuts or surgical incisions. The skin closes over the wound and sends collagen-producing fibroblasts to create new skin cells. The condition of the skin indicates how well a patient heals. Scarring severity is influenced by body area, skin laxity, age, ethnicity, and skin tone; darker tones and redheads may scar more severely, while fair skin typically scars better.

Risk Factors For Scarring:

Your Age: As we age, our skin becomes less elastic and becomes thinner. This is because collagen (which makes the skin elastic) changes as we age, and the fat layer under our skin becomes thinner. The result of these changes, along with sun exposure, smoking, exposure to the environment and other lifestyle issues, means that skin does not heal as well or as quickly as we age. The benefit to age is that the imperfections that occur over time, like sun damage, work to help conceal scars that might be more obvious on younger skin.

Genetic (Inherited) Tendency To Scar: If your parents or siblings tend to scar heavily, you are likely to do the same. If you have a family tendency to scar badly, you may want to discuss this with your surgeon.

How Quickly Your Skin Heals: You may be one of the genetically blessed people who seem to heal magically, quickly and easily with minimal scarring, or you may be diabetic and your skin tends to heal slowly. How quickly you heal is a personal thing and can change with illness or injury.

Smoking: Not only does smoking increase your risk for scars, it can also slow your healing.

Drinking: Alcohol dehydrates both the body and skin, which decreases your overall state of health. While your wound is healing, avoid alcohol and focus on non-caffeinated beverages.

Nutrition: Eat a balanced diet with an emphasis on protein intake. Protein makes up the building blocks of healing skin, so it is essential to provide your body with adequate protein (chicken, pork, fish, seafood, beef, dairy products) to allow your skin to heal. If you do not like eating meat, soy products provide an excellent alternative as a lean protein source.

Hydration: Dehydration happens when you are not taking in enough fluids. Staying well hydrated (Tip: If you are well-hydrated, your urine will be almost colorless or light in color) will help keep your healing headed in the right direction.

Your Weight: If you are currently dealing with being overweight, you may find yourself at a greater risk for developing noticeable scarring. Why is this the case? The excess fat located beneath your skin can create challenges that work against your surgeon's best efforts to close your incision seamlessly and effectively.

Rest: If your doctor suggests that you take a period of rest for two weeks, we strongly recommend that you follow their instructions carefully. You will become aware if you are increasing your activity levels too quickly, as you will likely feel more fatigued and experience increased soreness. Pushing yourself too hard and exhausting your body will not contribute positively to your wound healing and can actually hinder the recovery process significantly.

Proper Wound Care: Following your surgeon's advice is crucial to preventing scars. Avoiding infection, not using unprescribed ointments, and practicing basic care for your incisions are key to healing without scars.

Identify Infection Quickly: If your incision becomes infected, it is crucial that you can effectively identify the common signs of infection and seek help from your physician immediately if you notice any changes. An infection can seriously impair the healing process and can significantly contribute to scarring, potentially affecting your overall results. Prompt attention to any concerns can ensure the best possible outcome for your recovery.

Chronic Illness: Diabetes and other health conditions can slow down healing. To achieve the best results, it's important to manage your illness effectively before and after surgery. For diabetics, keeping blood sugar levels normal is crucial, as high levels can delay recovery.

Stress on Your Incision: Avoid putting stress on your incision by lifting, bending, or stretching it. This can cause the incision to open up, slow down healing, and make the scar larger.

Exposure to Sunlight: Keep the sun away from your incision as much as you can. If your scar is hard to cover, like on your face, use a good sunscreen. Your surgeon will let you know when it's okay to use ointments, but it's typically safe once the stitches are out or the incision is fully healed.

General Signs and Symptoms of Infection

Fever: A fever is often accompanied by feeling chilled. A fever can also decrease your appetite, lead to dehydration and a headache. A low-grade fever (100 F or less) is common in the days following surgery, a fever of 101 or more should be reported to the surgeon.

Signs and Symptoms of An Infected Surgical Incision

Hot Incision: An infected incision may feel noticeably hot to the touch, indicating that the body is responding to the infection. This increase in temperature occurs as the immune system sends infection-fighting blood cells to the site of infection, working diligently to combat any harmful bacteria or pathogens present.

Swelling/Hardening of the Incision: An infected incision may begin to harden noticeably as the tissue underneath becomes inflamed and irritated. The incision itself may also start to appear swollen or puffy, indicating a potential problem that should not be ignored.

Redness: An incision that becomes red, or develops red streaks radiating outward from it to the surrounding skin may indicate a potential infection. While some redness is a normal part of the healing process at the incision site, this redness should gradually decrease over time. If the redness instead continues to intensify or becomes more pronounced as the incision heals, it may be a sign that further evaluation is needed.

Drainage From the Incision: An infected incision may produce foul-smelling drainage or pus, which can be blood-tinged or green, white, or yellow in color. This drainage may also be thick.

Pain: Your pain should gradually lessen as you heal. If your pain at the surgery site unexpectedly worsens, it may indicate an infection. Increased pain is normal if you are active too soon or reduce your pain medication, but if the pain increases significantly without a clear reason, contact your surgeon.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we encourage you to please reach out and call Shape at 509-458-7546 for assistance and guidance.