When is It Best to Start Laser Scar Removal?

Scars are fully developed by 3 months and then remodel over the ensuing several months and are fully mature after that.  Most studies suggest that the best time to favoably alter a scar is around 2 months.  All scar intervention is an attempt to force collagen to remodel.  Usually dermabrasion or fractional CO2 resurfacing lasers give the best results.

Once an injury is deep enough to require stitches it has caused a full thickness injury and will result in a permanent scar regardless of who repairs it. There is NO treatment that will either prevent a skin scar or that will erase it.

The scar undergoes a process of self-remodeling which gradually transforms it from a red (blood vessel full) scar to a white (no blood vessels) mature scar in 6-12 months. Although the scar can never be erased the blood vessels in the scar could be occluded with certain laser resulting in a white scar sooner.

By 6 months time, the scar will be largely mature and achieve most of its permanent characteristics. If the scar is wide or prominent you should consult a Plastic surgeon for a SCAR REVISION (who could get a better scar) rather than a laser doc who could NEVER get rid of the scar.