Scars Thick and Red 6 Months After Face and Neck Lift?

Hi Maria, 

Firstly I am sorry you have this complication, it must be distressing for you. In my experience it is unusual for a patient to have inflammed and tender scars at six months. Certainly there is a risk of hypertrophy (thickening) but inflammation is usually associated with infection or irritation from a foreign body / suture. I am assuming that as you PS has injected Steroid these causes have been ruled out. I wonder if you have a history of hypertrophic or Keloid scarring? Have the scars be exposed to strong sunlight or were they under too much tension? Hard to tell without photos. 

At 6 months I would advocate Massage, silcone gel, steroid injections and would consider fractionated laser judiciously. It is a little early to consider revision of the scar in my opinion but this is certainly an option in the future if necessary. 

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards

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

Although it takes a full year to heal completely from a facelift, thick red scars after 6 months and 3 kenalog injections make me think that the possibility of revision is at least moderate.  Thick red scars are usually termed as hypertrophic, usually associated with excessive wound tension or some other adverse wound healing factor.