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  • Scarring: Why It's Not Always Under the Surgeon's Control
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There are studies that look at what creates a bad scar. Is it the type of surgery that creates it? Is it how the surgeon does a procedure? The first thing to keep in mind is, I tell all my patients. What I do in a two or three hour surgery, is tiny compared to what your body does in healing. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for six to 24 months is how long it takes your body to heal that scar. So what I can do in a little surgery, isn't a whole lot compared to what your body does. That being said, there are studies that show that if your surgeon makes things too tight, if there's too much tension on the closure, the skin is kind of real tight and then they are pulled together, that can cause the scar to look thicker and wider. So good surgical techniques can make a difference. But in the end, it really is up to your body. Your body's going to heal that. So we may do the exact same surgery on 20 people. But for some reason one or two of them, their body just heals their scars poorly.

Scarring: Why It's Not Always Under the Surgeon's Control

Dr. Anthony Youn helps us understand what affects scarring: your surgeon and you.