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Philip Young, MD answers: Getting rid of thyroid surgery scar

My neck scar is 4" long and it pooches out all the way across. This is a fairly new incision but everyone else's is just a flat line even in the beginning. What are my options for flattening it and making it blend in with the rest of my skin? Which procedure would best address this scar?


Philip Young, MD
6 months ago

Scars sometimes have a tendency to come back. Your scar is noticeable given the size and discoloration. It is hard to tell if it is red. Early on, the redness can be improved with IPL or a vascular laser. This will decrease some of the inflammation within the scar.  Steroids can do the same as well cause the scar to shrinken a little. 

You look young and what that tells me is that you are more likely to form more exuberant scar formation and inflammation. This may hinder your healing for a while until you get older. Ways to improve the scar include re-exision and closing the straight line closure that you have with a geometric type of configuration to break up the straight line that people pick up on. 

Laser resurfacing in a very conservative fashion can also help. After closing the incision you may consider having steroids injected in a repeated fashion along with topical steroids.

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