Healing scars

[free4now]

I recently got six stitches in the ER to sew up a wound from a nasty fall. The stitches were removed a week or so ago, but the scar is going to be there for a while. It's about 3/4" long, and roughly follows the outside of my eyebrow. It's on an angle, as if it were connecting my third eye to my ear hole.

I tend to be a keloid former; a mole-removal scar on my chest was lumpy and red for about a decade, and is still very visible. So I want to do whatever I can to make this scar heal as clean as possible.

The way it's healing right now, there's an obvious shelving effect, where one piece of skin was pulled over the other during the stitching. And it does feel gristly overall, not at all smooth.

I've seen a plastic surgeon a few times, and he says there's nothing that I can do except wait 6 months and have him recut it if needed.

I've heard various anecdotal stories that vitamin E can be helpful. And my internet searching has pointed out that many people use special sticky silicon gel sheets (typical cost $50 or so each), which tend to keep the wound moisturized and hopefully flat. I'm thinking those benefits can be achieved with Band-Aid advanced healing strips, which are sticky pads that are left on for a couple of days, so that's what I've been using for the last week.

Anyone have experiences to share as to how to avoid keloid formation and get a good heal for the scar?

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

FFN, scar formation is highly individualized and goes through phases. Nodularity generally persists to some extent, but redness and elevation can diminish over time with regular motion of the area. While topical potions might keep the surrounding skin from drying out, they seem to do little else.

If someone forms keloids readily (most common in blacks but also in individiuals of other ethnicities), it makes it more difficult to decide what to do. But a keloid from an injury might be more "exuberant" than one from a controlled, skillful surgeon. There are techniques (z-plasty, for example) that can give surprisingly good results by aligning the scar with the natural skin lines, etc.

I wouldn't dream of doing anything for 6 - 12 months. Use it as an icebreaker in meantime -- "it was 3 am and I didn't hear them coming. Suddenly I felt a searing...."

 

[ProspectiveBum]

I don't know if this is helpful, but my son got a similar cut in a similar location, and the main thing that the doctor stressed after stitching him up was to put sunscreen on the scar after it had healed. We did that, using one of those sunscreen sticks (it's sort of like an anti-persperant stick), and his scar is barely visible now.

Of course, he was a toddler, and they tend to heal a bit differently than us old folk.

 

[DangerMouse]

After I had my Mohs surgery last year dermatologist suggested I use Aquaphor and it definitely helped as the scar is not really noticeable.

When I previously had surgery I had a nightmare recovery as the nerve endings in the scar never healed. It was red, raised and always painful. I ended up having to have a scar revision after 12 months. I used both vitamin e cream/oils and those silicone scar covers and they did not make a bit of difference. The surgeon was surprised at the issues I had the first time around as he mentioned it would be more expected for someone African American rather than someone with my skin tone.

 

[Texas Proud]

My wife is using Medermia (sp?) or something like that for her foot surgery... seems to be working well...

My sister had bad scar on her head... also used something she can not remember plus vit E... they went away...

 

[Bimmerbill]

I heard about vit E, wife got some scar removal cream after her bunion surgery. Didn't seem to help, but she never used it as directed.

 

[Meadbh]

I don't know if this is helpful, but my son got a similar cut in a similar location, and the main thing that the doctor stressed after stitching him up was to put sunscreen on the scar after it had healed. We did that, using one of those sunscreen sticks (it's sort of like an anti-persperant stick), and his scar is barely visible now.

Of course, he was a toddler, and they tend to heal a bit differently than us old folk.

Babies who have surgery often end up with no visible scars. It's an age thing and doesn't apply to the OP, unfortunately!

 

[free4now]

Thanks for the replies. I ordered some of that Mepiform silicon gel sheeting to try, can't hurt. Since it's supposed to be left on 24 hours and is supposed to adhere to the wound, it doesn't seem like it would be compatible with salves (including vitamin E). But the sense I get is that the moisture/softening benefits of the salves (if true) would be conferred better by the gel sheets.

 

[MichaelB]

Aloe is used frequently in Latin America to avoid / lessen scars.

 

[TromboneAl]

DW had some square of silicone or plastic or something that she taped on her nose after the MOHS surgery. I had a suspicion that she'd used part of the packaging by mistake.