Is there anything I can do to make my cherry red skin graft less noticeable other than thick make-up? (Photo)

Question

I had a skin graft done to my nose in Feb 2010 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in DC. It healed well; but, it continues to be bright red at times. My doctor did laser therapy on it until he retired and said that it would eventually heal the rest of the way on its own. Isn't 5 years excessive?

Jacquelyn Dosal, MD · Answer

There are definitely things you can do to help improve the appearance of your graft.  Pulse dye laser is excellent at treating red skin.  If there are contour irregularities, sometimes ablative fractional lasers (such as a CO2 laser) can also be helpful.  You can start treating the area now, early treatment can be helpful.  I recommend seeing a board certified physician in your area experienced with laser treatments.

Daniel Berg, MD · Answer

Grafts (and all surgical wounds) tend to improve with time, particularly redness.  This may be true up to a year after surgery.  Persistent redness that does not go away can be treated with laser in many cases (e.g. pulsed dye laser).  Persistent texture irregularity can also be treated with laser or dermabrasion.

Robert Paul, MD · Answer

The skin graft is considered healed once the top layer or epidermis is intact (no scabbing). This is usually within several weeks following the initial surgery unless there were complications.  The graft then remodels over the next year to year and a half.  This is when it should lighten and soften.  Since your surgery was over 5 years ago, your skin graft has healed, has fully remodeled, and you should not experience any noticeable changes.  To try and lighten the graft now, laser therapy is your best options.  Try to find an experienced certified physician in your area that has multiple laser options for you.  You can discuss then differences with them, but the options include things like the IPL laser to help remove the color or a resurfacing laser such as Erbium:YAG (Sciton) for more dramatic changes.  Hope this helps and gets you in the right direction for treatment.

Is there anything I can do to make my cherry red skin graft less noticeable other than thick make-up? (Photo)

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Is there anything I can do to make my cherry red skin graft less noticeable other than thick make-up? (Photo)

Answers (3)

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Everything you need to know about Mohs Surgery

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