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I am a 25 year old female, and have been dealing with hypertrophic scars for about 5 years now. I first started getting hypertrophic scars in college. I didn't know what they were at the time- just knew that it was disfiguring and unsightly.
My hypertrophic scars are all along the jawline and neck area. I have about 10 hypertrophic scars in this area, ranging in size from 0.5cm to quarter-sized.
My first visit to the dermatologist about 3 years ago was fairly discouraging. He could not offer me a treatment for the scars, but instead we worked to get the acne under control. I was then referred to a plastic surgeon who suggested that we excise one and see how it responds. At this point in time, injections/laser therapy was not widely used.
Acne is now largely under control, and I am just using benzoyl peroxide twice daily. I am fairly happy with the acne treatment currently.
The surgical excision was a very bad thing to do (for me). The scar grew back about twice the size of the original, which was very discouraging. I gave up treating them.
After reading the message boards here and doing some research online, I decided to give corticosteroid injections a try. I called around 2 places, and one offered them. I'm not sure how widely it is available, but it sounds like many dermatologists are doing it now.
The dermatologist I went to see is board certified and also teaches at the medical school in town, so I was very hopeful.
During my consultation (which was on 2/21/12), he told me that corticosteroid injections and pulse-dye laser were my two options. They are similar in treatment length and benefits, and both are covered under my insurance (although I have a large deductible to meet...)
I chose the corticosteroid injections only because I can get them done right in his office, while I would have to be referred to yet another place for the laser. He told me that the laser is "uncomfortable" while the injections, are well, injections, so they're also uncomfortable (or painful, depending on your level of needle-phobia)
I started the injections that day with the scars on the right side of my neck/jawline. I think we injected about 4 scars total. The injections were painful on the flatter scars and less painful on the large, "tall" scars. There is a tiny bit of bleeding and some pain for 1-2 hours after injecting. I have a fairly high tolerance to pain, and personally, it's a small price to pay for getting rid of these ugly scars!!
With steroid injections, there is minimal chance it will go in systemic, although you may want to take that into account if you're diabetic (steroids are anti-insulin). You can also get tissue atrophy is you inject them into healthy tissue, resulting in depressions in the skin, which are unsightly (it's like the opposite of keloids/hypretrophic scars!). So the dermatologist took great care not to inject them outside the scars.
Typically it takes a "few" injections to make the scars go away. The dermatologist told me about 5-6 injections. However, he was optimistic about the treatment, and said that he has had good success with them in the past.
I am supposed to return for my next round of innjections in one month.
This was very long, But I hope it helps people. I will edit/post back with my progress. (fingers crossed!!) I just want to be able to tie back my hair into a ponytail without feeling self-conscious!!
These are pictures of my scars currently (2/22/12)
