10 weeks ago my teenage daughter had a mole removed that was 3 mm by 6 mm. The plastic surgeon used internal and external disolvable stiches. It is on her back. The ends never met. Today she has a wide scar of 1.5 cm by 2.5 cm on her back. Flat, slightly indented and still redish. Looks terrible on a teenage girl. He said it was what he expected and to do nothing. What can I do? Silicone tape?
The skin of the back is tight and firm on a teenager. It moves and stretches with the body. Sometimes what you describe is unavoidable due to the location and conditions that neither, you, your daughter or the plastic surgeon can control. These things work out much better on old people with loose skin.
I recommend that you return to see your plastic surgeon , but unless there is an urgent problem, consider giving it another 4 months or so. As a general rule of thumb, we don't like to do revisions until a year after the last surgery because things can improve over time. Six months might be enough time to see where this is going and whether something can or should be done to improve the scar. Best wishes.
I don't kn ow if this is a keloid or hypertrophic scar. We don't know what kind of resorbable suture the surgeon used in the deeper layer. It was closed in two layers to avoid suture marks-the outer layer was undoubtedly quick-dissolving, but the inner layer will need to be longer lasting to hold the skin together during the healing process. You should return to your surgeon. Over the long run, we learn more from our patients than any other source.
Thank you for sharing your question and I am sorry to hear of your scar related issues. Due to the tight, thick nature of the back skin, it is possible that the incision separates a small amount leading to wide scar. Depending on its current appearance I would keep the area UV protected with sunblock, follow sun avoidance, and allow the area to mature for a full year. At that time revisit the scar's appearance for a possible revision.
Early scars
10 weeks is no time for wound healing. The best thing you can do for this wound is to wait it out. The worst thing you can do is to go back and revise the swing too soon this is the thing that will cause the worst car possible. Silicone tape is a reasonable thing to do. The key to this situation is to be patient. It will look better once it's healed and it looks now. There is no way the wound looks at best at 10 weeks.
Removing skin lesions on growing patients always pose challenges to how it will heal. If the mole was very suspect, then the procedure was absolutely needed and now you will have to deal with the scarring that will take months to mature. You should be asking your surgeon on what strategies you can employ to minimize your concerns. If this was truly elective because it was a mole that was just not liked and your surgeon knew it was going to heal this way, the next question would be if you were fully informed in making your decision to have this done.