Will Fraxel Minimize the Appearance of Major Surgery Scar?

The darkness of your scar might improve slightly initially, but there could be a rebound hyperpigmentation response from your skin making the scar even darker than before treatment. The thickness probably won’t improve with Fraxel. Corticosteroid injections might help thin the scar, but nothing will shrink the width of the scar. If it were surgically removed, the scar could heal worse and bigger than before. If it is a large scar you could consider a small test area with Fraxel and... more

fraxel will often (not always and not predictably) improve the appearance of a scar, but it will certainly not make it narrower if it has spread. only excising/revising the scar surgically might be able to accomplish that. the chest can be a very tough area in some individualsto get a "good" scar, no matter how hard you try.

Hi Ray, Surgical scars do respond well to Fraxel restore and repair. Each individual scar and patient needs to be evaluated to determine whether the laser treatment would be helpful. It depends on your skin type as well as the scar. I have seen dark scars lighten and light scars darken. Surgical scar revision is always an alternative. With fresh scars, Fraxel restore gives great results when started 2 to 4 weeks after surgery. Good luck and be well. Dr. P

It is not my overall recommendation to undergo Fraxel for management of an old wide pigmented scar. It may help superficial wrinkles and pigmentation but scarring tends to affect the deeper layers of the skin. It will not make a scar less wide. Really, the only satisfactory solution for a wide scar, at present, is surgical scar revision