Scar Treatment

There are many types and causes of scars which makes scar treatment difficult to treat and unpredictable – did you know scar tissue can take up to 12 months to mature? At Cairns Plastic Surgery, our non-surgical and surgical scar treatments can help reduce the size of scars and improve their appearance.

Scarring can affect one’s self-esteem, so it’s reassuring to know that there are both surgical and non-surgical treatments available that can help minimise the appearance of many types of scars.

Types of scars

The following is a non-exhaustive list of the types of scars that surgical or non-surgical solutions can help treat:

• Injury-related scars
• Surgical incisions
• Hypertrophic scars (raised, red scars)
• Keloid scars (severe scars which may hamper movement)
• Depressed and stretched scars
• Skin grafts
• Acne scars
• Contracted scars

Surgical scar treatments

Deeper or more severe scarring could benefit from a surgical scar treatment, such as:

Scar excision

The excision improves the width, thickness, and puckering of a scar.

Z Plasty

The Z Plasty technique can elongate or relax a scar for improved functionality (for example, bending a knee), or can realign a scar to make it less noticeable.

Incision repositioning

Depending on the type of scar, this treatment can help scars appear less obvious in crease lines.

Non-surgical scar treatments

There are several non-surgical scar treatments which may help improve the look and feel of certain scars. Options include:

Taping

Applying pressure to a scar for a period of time can help flatten and therefore improve the appearance of some scars.

Steroid injections

This repeat treatment can flatten thick scars.

Erbium laser

The laser flattens and contours the skin’s surface, while scars are camouflaged by resurfacing the skin and blending it into its surrounds.

Dermal Fillers

This injectable treatment can treat depressed scars, resulting in a more even skin surface.