I have said repeatedly that punch excision is NOT the way to go as more often than not the excised scar looks worse. In fact, I have never seen a successful punch or punch graft excision.

Dr Rappaport further agreed with my findings and said he refuses to perform them any longer.

Please stop doing this or suggesting this. The scar will widen, sink, discolor or return to its original depressed appearance. Any improvements you are seeing are due to swelling or exchanging one type of scar for another.

NOT A SOLUTION.

hi maya i am talking about excision of 100% improvement...Dont you have plastic surgeons in United kingdom hospital???.. please remember that all plastic surgeons do make scar revision or excision..

I still belive in excision - I've been doing some research on how smoking affects wound healing ( http://acne.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=11739 ) I think I've had poor healing because of my smoking. I'm going to give up b4 I see Dr Chu again.

id be surprised if smoking had that much of an affect on wound healing, but i guess its possible. I think that's a good idea maya. maybe quit smoking then go in for 1 excision or something (hopefully a 2 layer since aparently it prevents the scar from depressing, if u can find someone who does that..) and see if its better than previous ones? Also i read an article and saw pics of this cross method it's called:

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/u...A%28chemical%29

results look pretty good, but of course u never know. take care.

also i wanted to point out taht it seems ur supposed to do this cross method multiple times, like 3-6 is wut i took from the article, which mite imply it's not a real harsh treatment..

Thanks Jonah - I have just recived the full TCA cross article ... but still, b4 I do anymore, I will need to give up smoking to ensure optimum success. I did quite a bit of research on smoking and it does suggest that I have 40% less success than with non-smokers.

u guys mite want to check out the smoothbeam thread a little also. it doesn't work for deep box or icepick scars, but it mite work on depressed excision scars?? supposed to correct shallow depressed scars is the impression i got. later.

http://beautymaker.hypermart.net/english/s...ample3/scar.htm

That's an amazing photo gallery lonelyman - do you know who the doctor is who did those procedures? What is excellent is that they are Asian skinned like me.

that plastic surgeon is from taiwan,e-mail him about the procedures

http://beautymaker.hypermart.net/english/intro.htm

Hello,

I had a big excision out of the middle of my forehead at the end of last June before my Aug. wedding. For personal reasons, I haven't been back in several months to update as promised, but I will now.

I had two big, red, indented yet lumpy scars in the middle of my upper forehead and several Drs told me that excision was the best option. My Dr. decided to excise both together which meant a very large piece of skin was removed, leaving me with an almost 2 inch long "seam" across the forehead. It was a major deal. The skin was very, very tight, I had both internal and external stitches which stayed in for 8 days. I was very pleased with the results until sometime around September, when the seam sort of stretched apart and sunk in. Also, at either end of the scar, there is subtle "dog-earring" which is a common thing in big excisions. It's where there is excess mounds of skin at the corners, and can be corrected with smaller excisions to remove the dog ears.

I think the results didn't hold up as well as they might have for a few reasons:

1) it was just a really big excision with a tremendous amount of tension on the wound. Actually, looking back on it, I'm surprised it didn't pull apart more.

2)Although the results lasted for several months (I was really pleased with how it looked for the wedding), I do think that swelling had something to do with it (is it possible to have swelling for 2 months following???)

3)After I was pretty sure everything had healed, I began to wear my baseball cap which I think puts pressure right on the line of the wound. Bad idea--I won't do this next time.

When I saw my Dr. a few weeks ago, he said that he thought, given size of and pressure on the wound, it looked good. He said that the skin had stretched and loosened, giving him more flexibility, and that he could correct it this time leaving no dog ears and preventing it from stretching apart. It seems to me that this is quite possible.

I think as of now, I am planning to have this scar re-excised (possibly in stages) and then I am looking into some kind of resurfacing next summer to help blend in the seams left from excision.

That's my current plan. .

--leo

guys i was wondering, my scars are kind of linear. like they are thin, and maybe 1 to 2 cm long, but very thin. but they are real deep and noticeable. anyway, i was wondering if the excision of a thin linear scar might result in an excision scar that's not too much longer than the original. i mean i figure scars are usually made longer cause the excision has to be in the shape an long ellipse, so if the scar is basically a circle, then it will be significantly elongated. but in my case maybe the scar is alredy that shape. this make sense? later.

Jonah - the punch is always larger and wider than the original scar - the scar tissue surrounding the scar needs to be cut out.

I am now attempting the TCA cross method at home - I have been up dating my progress on the TCA thread - if it works for me, you may want to consider it too, so as not to create a longer scar.

[-X =D> #-o =P~ [-o< 8-[ [-(

new pictures of excision:

http://www.facechange.org/site/reconstruct...tive.htm#keloid

Hi guys! Sorry I haven't been here for a while, I've been very busy lately...

All I can say for my 2,5 months update is WOW! Still looking really good, about 95% improvement now. It looks like the rest of my skin, except it's still a little pink. If I look really close I can see where one of the stitches were, it looks like a tiny, tiny pore. I actually have pores larger than that so it doesn't bother me at all.

I'm pretty amazed at how well my skin healed with the "do nothing" method. I even forgot to take my supplements (except the zinc)! I'm a yogini (hi Maya ) so I guess I'm a pretty "healthy" person without thinking about it, maybe that had something to do with it...dunno. All I know is that excision is one of the best things I have ever done!!

Leo,

thanks for coming back giving your update!

Maya,

I read the discussion about smoking and I do think smoking may be the reason (or at least one of the reasons) you didn't see more improvement. I wish you best of luck in quitting! I know you can do it!

Maria-Great to hear that you nearly have 100% success!

Would you still recommend this procedure for multiple deep scars?

Hi Maria - so glad of your result!! Way to go!

Me - my 8/9 week old excisions - are between 40 and 75% better - that's good!! My 3/4 week old excisions - maybe only 20-30% improved - am going to ask Dr Chu to subcise them in January as they are indented, although the deep holes are gone.

Overall, I'm still happy I had this done - and I think if the scar is big enough, excision is the way to go.

Well, I had my Derm Surgeon apointment at the Cleveland Clinic today, She seems really nice. She said that because I have the icepick scars, to have 2 to 3 punch stitch sessions, then afterward if I like have a light chemical peal . She said that they do not use the disolvable stitches because of risk for infection and therfore scarring (which is what is used in double stitch method as someone has said). She said it is the best method for icepicks. She said using TCA could enlarge the scares. And dermabrasion could enlarge them aswell. I get my first session December 15th!!! It is $500 for up to 10 stitches and $750 for more than ten. She has scheduled me for an hour and half in her office, but said it would probably not take that long. She was actually recomended by another Derm to me and the Cleveland Clinic has a reputation for fine physicians and research, so I trust her judgement. Will keep everyone informed. [-o<

as far as i know plastic surgeons stiches upwards(1 st layer stich)..

like this: _/_

So that after many months when swelling went down will be like this: ___

Coz if plastic surgeons they stich like this : ___

After many months when the swelling went down it will be like

this :

/

dented see....

i hav one little scar in the rught of my chin area size of............this "o" but it's not really pitted. its slightle depresses and i want to get it removed. would scar excision work well?

Rock,

Yes, I would recommend it based on my own experiences. However, everyone is different and heals differently. If I were you I would try excision only for a couple of scars and then decide whether to have all the scars excised or not.

lula,

I think excision would be unnecessary if your scar is only slightly depressed. There are better methods for those type of scars.

I would only recommend excision if it's a very deep and large boxcsar or ice pick.

Some of mine are looking much better with the use of retin-a-micro.

The large one inch excision is still badly discoloured and indented - I want to get it subcised in January

wat is boxcar scar and rolling scar? i hear that often from you guys but i don't know wat they are. i only have one small scar thats not noticeable to others but i notice it cuz its on my face. i never had that until 8 months ago when i had a pimple there and i did needlin myself which caused a little infection. its mostly the color that makes it more noticeable to me. so would dermbrasion work. or should i wait a year to fully heal.

maria, how does your excision look now? is it still slightly indented?

lula: Please take a few minutes and read through the Frequently Asked Questions thread here:

http://acne.org/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=5996

Thanks!

Hi, I came across this site by accident and Im so glad I did! For ages I have wondered if it would be able to 'stich' my scars together, it seems that there is something like that, ie punch excision!

I have about 4 scars, which can only be described as holes, around the side of my nose. They are about 2 mm deep and about 3-4mm in diameter. I have had them over 10 years now.

Last year I had a lot of glycolic acid peels and also used the MD Forte regime, while it improved the condition of my skin it didnt help the scars. I cant believe the woman took all that money off me (must be near AA1000 over the space of about 18 months) when she must have known that there was a better and cheaper option.

Im now going to try and find out if this is available in my area. Thanks guys!