Can scars from a previous facelift be revised or will I need a facelift revision? Scars are raised, puffy and itchy

Question

I am 36 years old. I had an s-lift May 2022. My overall look is acceptable. But my scars are from hell. I have never seen anything like this…not even on the internet. My scars are large, puffy, raised, and itchy. My life has changed dramatically. I have to wear long wigs to completely cover my ears and near temporal area. I just really want to know if facelift scars only can be revised or will the facelift itself have to be revised? My surgeon wants to revisit this after 1 year.

Raffy Karamanoukian, MD, FACS · Answer

Plastic surgery scars require attention after surgery so that they remain cosmetically-appealing and barely noticeable. In our office, we use a protocol for scars that minimizes their activity in the 6-8 weeks after surgery. If you have late plastic surgery scars, you may also require laser and RF therapy to help reduce the longterm effects of the scarring. Keloids, hypertrophic scars, widened scars, red scars, and hyperpigmented scars all require scar modulation with topical creams followed by lasers and RF therapy. Topical skincare should be directed to a specific need, whether for pigmentation or hypertrophy and our office can guide you through the process to obtain the correct Plato’s Scar cream or Melarase cream for hypertrophy and discoloration. In terms of lasers, we would employ the vbeam laser for redness, Venus Viva RF, PRP microneedling, chemical peels, and Morpheus 8, fractional erbium, or fractional co2. All of these have their individual benefits. Most of all, we recommend you visit a solid plastic surgeon who understands surgical scar revision, laser therapy, and RF therapy for scars. 
 
Best, 
Dr. Karamanoukian
Realself100 Surgeon

Nelson Lee Novick, MD · Answer

Thanks for the photos.  From the photos, the scars are consistent with hypertrophic scars as I suspected from your prior query.. The earlier you seek appropriate treatment the better. As I said in my previous answer to you, the use of an algorithmic approach using  intralesional anti-inlammatory injections is ordinarily quite helpful for flattening these protruding scars and even taking out the reddish-brownish color they typically manifest. Surgical scar revisions run the risk for the subsequent development of even larger scars, stretch marks and even tram track stitch marks. Once again, you might wish to consult a board certified cosmetic dermatologist as a second opinion, rather than letting these scars "mature" any further., which potentially may make them even more difficult to treat. Hope this helps.

Roger J. Friedman, MD · Answer

This may be an issue of too much tension on your scars or just an unfortunate situation.
I would discuss this with your plastic surgeon and consider revising one of your scars. If the ultimate result is better than I would revise the remaining scar,
Roger Friedman,MD

Can scars from a previous facelift be revised or will I need a facelift revision? Scars are raised, puffy and itchy

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Can scars from a previous facelift be revised or will I need a facelift revision? Scars are raised, puffy and itchy

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Everything you need to know about Scar Removal Surgery

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