Scar Treatment and Management
Scar Treatment and Management
Scar treatment may help make a scar less noticeable while addressing concerns such as itch, pain, stiffness or limited movement. At Central Valley Doctors Health System Physician Group, a doctor evaluates the type, location and age of the scar, along with your health and goals, to customize an appropriate treatment plan.
How Collagen Affects Scars
Collagen is a protein that forms part of the skin’s supportive structure. Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and serves as a major building block for skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and connective tissues. Think of collagen as the body's natural support structure that helps keep skin firm, smooth, and strong.
Why Is Collagen Important?
Collagen helps:
- Maintain skin strength and elasticity
- Support wound healing
- Improve skin texture and firmness
- Strengthen connective tissues throughout the body
- Replace damaged tissue after injury or surgery
When skin heals after an injury or surgery, cells called fibroblasts create collagen as they repair damaged tissue. As a scar matures, the collagen within it is remodeled, meaning the body gradually reorganizes the healing tissue over time.
When too much collagen builds up during healing, it may contribute to a raised hypertrophic scar or keloid. This can occur with hypertrophic scars and keloids, which is why identifying the type of scar matters when discussing treatment options.
Understanding Different Types of Scars
Hypertrophic Scars
A hypertrophic scar occurs when the body produces excess collagen during the healing process. These scars may appear raised, thick, and red, but they remain within the boundaries of the original wound or surgical incision.
Common characteristics:
- Raised and thickened appearance
- Develops at the site of injury or surgery.
- Remains within the original wound area
- May improve over time but can cause discomfort or cosmetic concerns.
Keloid Scars
Keloids are a more aggressive type of scar tissue that can develop following injury, trauma, or surgery. Unlike hypertrophic scars, keloids extend beyond the original wound and may continue growing into surrounding healthy tissue. While keloids are not cancerous, they can be uncomfortable and affect appearance and confidence.
Common characteristics:
- Raised, firm scar tissue
- Extends beyond the original injury.
- May continue growing over time.
- Can cause itching, tenderness, or discomfort.
- Often creates cosmetic concerns.
What’s the Difference Between a Keloid and Hypertrophic Scarring?
Both keloids and hypertrophic scars are raised scars that form when the body produces extra scar tissue during healing. The main difference is whether the scar stays within the original wound. A doctor can help determine whether a raised scar is hypertrophic or a keloid and discuss appropriate hypertrophic scar treatment or keloid scar treatment.
Feature | Hypertrophic scar | Keloid |
Where it grows | Stays within the boundaries of the original wound | Grows beyond the original wound |
When it may appear | Usually develops after the wound heals | May appear months or even a year after the skin injury |
What happens over time | Often becomes flatter over months or years | Does not go away without treatment |
Possible symptoms | May itch, feel painful or limit movement if it forms near a joint | May itch, feel painful or limit movement if it becomes large or forms over a joint |
Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Scarring
Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), also called acne inversa, is a chronic skin condition that causes painful lumps, often in areas where skin touches skin such as the armpits, groin, inner thighs and under the breasts. These lumps may break open, drain and return over time. HS is not contagious and is not caused by poor hygiene.
If lumps, draining areas or wounds keep returning or heal slowly, a medical evaluation can help determine appropriate HS care. As affected areas heal, HS may leave discoloration, scarring or tunnels beneath the skin. If HS leaves lasting scars, a doctor can also discuss whether scar treatment may help with concerns such as appearance, discomfort, stiffness or limited movement.
What Is Scar Treatment?
Scar treatment aims to make a scar less noticeable and address concerns such as itch, pain, stiffness or limited movement. Scar management is individualized because scars vary in type, age, location and appearance. A doctor considers the scar, your health and your goals to recommend appropriate care. Treatment may improve a scar, but it cannot completely erase it.
How Does Scar Treatment Work?
Scar treatment works by addressing the part of a scar that is causing concern. For one person, that may be a scar that feels itchy, painful or stiff. For another, it may be a raised, sunken, red or tight area of skin that draws attention or makes movement harder.
A doctor begins by identifying the type of scar and how it is behaving. Scar tissue treatment may then focus on preventing excess tissue from building up, softening an established scar, reducing redness or thickness, easing symptoms or releasing tightness that affects movement. Depending on the scar, scar management may involve:
- Laser treatment: Focused light treatment that may help make a scar flatter, softer or less noticeable.
- Wound debridement: A procedure to clean a wound by removing damaged tissue while preserving healthy nearby tissue to support healing.
- A topical product or dressing: A product applied to the scar or healing skin, such as silicone gel or a silicone sheet
- Pressure therapy: Wearing a pressure dressing, such as an elastic bandage, stocking or earring.
- Injection treatment: A medication injected directly into scar tissue to help reduce a raised scar or keloid and ease symptoms such as itch or pain.
- Scar revision treatment: A surgical procedure that removes or repositions scar tissue to change a scar’s shape or release tightness that limits movement.
Some scars become less noticeable with time, while others need treatment or more than one approach. The purpose of care is to address the specific concern in a way that fits the scar, rather than expecting one treatment to work the same way for every scar.
Minimally Invasive Wound Debridement
Minimally invasive wound debridement may be recommended as part of scar treatment. This procedure may help remove dead or damaged tissue while limiting disruption to nearby healthy tissue. The goal is to clear nonviable tissue from the wound in a controlled way, preserving healthy tissue as much as possible and creating better conditions for the wound to continue healing.
Because it is performed while a wound is healing, debridement may be part of scar management and may help reduce later scar formation. What the procedure feels like depends on the wound and how debridement is performed. Some types may cause pain or discomfort, so anesthesia or other pain-control measures may be used when appropriate. After treatment, the area may need dressings and continued wound care while it heals.
Does Laser Scar Treatment Work?
Laser scar treatment may improve the appearance or feel of some scars. It may help make a scar flatter, softer or less noticeable, reduce redness and ease symptoms such as itch, pain, stiffness or restricted movement. Laser treatment cannot completely remove a scar.
Laser treatment for scars uses focused light energy to treat selected areas of scar tissue. A doctor may also combine laser scar treatment with another approach, such as an injection, when appropriate. Results take time to appear, and some people need a series of treatments.
How Many CO2 Laser Treatments Are Needed for Scars?
The number of CO2 laser treatment sessions depends on the scar and the treatment plan. Some people may have one session, while others may need a series. Fractional CO2 laser creates tiny, controlled treatment areas in the skin while leaving surrounding tissue untreated. This supports the body’s repair process and helps remodel scar tissue over time.
A doctor can discuss whether CO2 laser for scar treatment fits the type of scar you have, when treatment may be considered and whether more than one session may be recommended.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Depending on the treatment depth, a topical anesthetic, local anesthetic or other comfort measures may be used during CO2 laser treatment.
During treatment, you may feel warmth, sensitivity or discomfort similar to a rubber band snapping against the skin. Afterward, redness, swelling, a sunburn-like sensation, peeling or crusting may occur as the skin heals. Recovery time varies based on treatment intensity and area treated.
HS may cause recurring wounds that may heal with discoloration, scarring and tunnels under the skin.
Wound debridement is a procedure to help remove dead or damaged tissue from a wound to support healing while preserving healthy tissue when possible.
Scar treatment may make a scar less noticeable and may ease symptoms, but it cannot completely erase a scar. Scars are part of the skin’s healing process. Some fade over time, while others remain raised, sunken, tight or discolored.
For minor cuts and scrapes, keeping a wound clean, moist and covered while it heals may help reduce the appearance of a scar. Gently wash a minor cut or scrape with mild soap and water, apply petroleum jelly, then cover it with a bandage. Change the bandage daily. These steps are for minor wounds. Follow your doctor’s guidance when a wound needs medical care or stitches.
Yes. After a wound has healed, daily sun protection may help reduce red or brown discoloration and help a scar fade. Use broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher when clothing does not cover the scar and reapply as directed.
Find Scar Treatment in Modesto
If a scar is affecting your comfort, movement or how you feel about its appearance, seeing a doctor can help you better understand the type of scar and discuss appropriate treatment options. At Central Valley Doctors Health System Physician Group, patients can talk with a doctor about scar treatment that considers the scar’s features, health history and personal goals. Call (855) 923-0511 or fill out the form below to request an appointment.