Alexandra8 0 Share Posted April 10, 2005 Hi everyone I'm new here and I am just so depressed b/c I have this huge scar on my cheek. And, I mean huge I had a cyst on my cheek last year (my first and only.. ) and I didn't know what to do about it so I started to pick at it etc.. and this went on for a YEAR. I'm in such regret..Anyway, then after trying antibiotics etc.. the cyst finally gave up and I was left with a red indented scar.It wasn't that big, but noticable and well indentations are ugly and in the wrong lighting.. you know how it can look..Soo.. being the perfectionnist that I am.. I went back to the derm and he suggested get SURGERY to remove the "sac" or whatever.. and then to stitch away the scar.Sounded too good to be true, but a month later... I have a less indented but much much much wider scar. It's an inch long and a quarter an inch wide. It's unnoticable when I have makeup on.. but when I smile it shows.. or when you look at me in the wrong lighting it shows..I am SO DEPRESSED. Should I go back to the same derm and complain? Has anyone else on this board had stitches on their face? Can I see pics? I am thinking of posting a pic but I have to look into where to go to do that. I did a google search but it seems like I'm the only one who has this problem. I'm so depressed.If anyone knows about this PLEASE share your stories or info thanks!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
amberkat 0 Share Posted April 10, 2005 Be thankful that it doesn't show with makeup. It is probably not as bad as you think it is. (We are always more critical of our own flaws.) With many types of scarring, make-up does not help. I guess you could express your dissatisfaction to the dermatolgist, but I doubt that it would do much good. Maybe a doctor with more surgical skills could redo the incision so that it would heal better. I think there would be no guarantees with any type of surgery. I would excise a few scars if I could find a surgeon that is very good at stitching skin back together so that there would be minimal scarring. I don't know if such a person exists and even if they do, people heal differently so there would still be no guarantee. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
agua2004 0 Share Posted April 10, 2005 That's how I got my scar on my hand. Some time ago I thought, I wanted to do excision on that, but now I don't care. There is another scar on my shoulder (which is very small) that I will excise later.Maybe you could ask a plastic surgeon if he will excise your scar? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alexandra8 0 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 (edited) Ok,Here is a pic of what I have I had a regular size indentation from a cyst.. and then it was stitched closed and the cyst was completely removed..]THIS IS WHAT I HAVE NOW?? If I smile it really shows. This is 1 month after surgery. Do you really think it will improve further? What type of excision should I ask for?Also, if anyone can help me identify what happened and if there's any hope for this scar The indentation is also due to a contrast with an elevation around the scar. The tissue underneith it is hard and Ithink the surgeon burnt my skin surrounding the stitches (I remember smelling smoke and he was burning somethign on my face). And, the burning lefta swelling around my scar leaving it elevated and then depressed inside. It's so horrible.Will this really recover with time or what type of exision/laser treatmetnt would be best.No one on this board would settle for what I have now right? You would do something if you had this on ur face too right?? Edited April 12, 2005 by Alexandra8 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dermadude 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 I would say the burning is when the doc cauterizes the area so the blood doesnt start gushing out. thats the burning.. Now from what i see you might wanna get that reexcised cause it looks like the stitches came loose and the scar kinda looks like it made it indented again Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alexandra8 0 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 "the burning is when the doc cauterizes the area so the blood doesnt start gushing out."- Yeah! That's what I remember him saying now.. it's true. But after 1 month my skin's still swollen around the stitches.. it doesn't seem normal. I wonder if it takes longer for the swelling to subside."from what i see you might wanna get that reexcised cause it looks like the stitches came loose and the scar kinda looks like it made it indented again"Well, the Surgeon himself took the stitches out 5 days after surgery and he swore that the stitches were intact and that everything would be just fine..I was promised a THIN WHITE LINE?? I don't see that just yet (I'm wearing makeup so it's not even white yet it's still red from being irritated)Reexcised? As in a "punch excision"? Do you think Laser would be another good idea? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dermadude 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 NOOOOOOO Dont do a laser it wont do squat and make it worse also the remaining skin on you looks good so dont do LASERS all they are are money sucking machines... Trust me 5 days for removing the stiches seem kinda to soon but im no doc. I just think it didnt heal fast enough before he removed them so if you can go see a different doc and redo it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alexandra8 0 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Ok, well I got the actual surgery 3 weeks ago. Do you think it's possible that it will just take time for this to heal (the swelling from cauterization) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billyboy 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 I had a similar, but less severe, scar separation on a cyst excision by a dermatologist. The scar can be reexcised, but the incison will need to be bigger and the surgeon will need to tie it very tight to avoid further separation. And, it will be evident, even if done skillfully. Frankly, I think your surgeon made the same mistake as my first surgeon (who said he was very disappointed by my resulting separation). A skilled plastic surgeon will do a fine line incision and do most of the cutting to remove the cyst under the epidermis and sew it up with sutures under the skin for the most part. It appears that your surgeon cut out a wide "eye shaped cut", removing a good part of your skin, increasing the tension on either side of the scar, thereby causing the scar too separate. Once this mistake is made (maybe he had a reason for doing it this way), I think it is very hard too correct. I would be disinclined to ask the same surgeon to fix it, because he may not have the expertise and could make it even worse. I went to a plastic surgeon for my scar separation correction. It was improved, but way far from perfect. I may go for a full face dermabrasion, primarily for acne scars on my cheeks/jawline, but expect that the scar will also be improved. From what I read, dermabrasion by a skilled surgeon is more effective than lasers on scar minimization.Good luck. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OursFan 3 Share Posted April 11, 2005 If you are unhappy with what the Dermatologist did then I would complain. Of course, even though you complain it doesn't mean that the Dermatologist will do anything for you. You might ask if there is anything further that he can do to improve the area or if you no longer trust this Dermatologist, you could go to other Derms and get a second opinion as far as if they could improve the scar. So sorry this happened to you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alexandra8 0 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Thanks for the replies.. I don't know what you mean billyboy about scar separation..The stitches did not open nor separate.. what is really happening here is that my skin is HARD on the outskirts of the scar. I touch it and I feel a lump under my skin as if it's burned or something and that is probably from the cauterization. So, I'm wondering if this will subside and soften, levelling out my skin.. or if it will stay hard and rigid elevating the surrounding skin around the scar.Does anyone know about this cauterization and how long it takes for the swelling to reduce?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dermadude 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Well to tell you the truth cauterizing the skin shouldn't really effect the outcome the reason the docs do it is so the excision doesnt bleed as much and is much cleanerto remove the scar tissue.. If its only been three weeks give it another month or so to heal fully and if your not satified still then go for it again but with another doc... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vghranskaliiy 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 This is a classical problem of excision. The bottom line is he didn't sew it up properly. Most probable cause is too lose stitches. That's what happened in my case. The tissue opens up, the wound widens and heals that way. So then you end up with an indent. The best solution in my opinion is reexcision of the same scar. If permormed by a skilled surgeon, you will end up with a thin line (that's what we all want...) that will not be much longer than the scar you have now. Because from the photos it seems there is a good ratio between width/length of the scar. But, if it helps, you skin looks just great, nothing to worry about. A lot of people here would do anything to have your skin - with the indent. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alexandra8 0 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 This is a classical problem of excision. The bottom line is he didn't sew it up properly. Most probable cause is too lose stitches. That's what happened in my case. The tissue opens up, the wound widens and heals that way. So then you end up with an indent. The best solution in my opinion is reexcision of the same scar. If permormed by a skilled surgeon, you will end up with a thin line (that's what we all want...) that will not be much longer than the scar you have now. Because from the photos it seems there is a good ratio between width/length of the scar. But, if it helps, you skin looks just great, nothing to worry about. A lot of people here would do anything to have your skin - with the indent.← Quote Link to post Share on other sites
billyboy 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Scar separation means that, due to tension, the skin on either side of the incision pulls away from each other (or separates). This causes the scar to widen and become depressed as the scar tissue is stretched. As others noted, the stitching needs to be made tighter. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
verysadgirl 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 I have heard that cortisone injections can work wonders for scar prevention/minimization. Does anyone know about that? A friend of a friend had them when she had abdominal surgery and the scar is pretty much unnoticeable, apparently. can the same be done on surgical wounds on the face? if so, maybe it would help in any future surgical treatment of this... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Doctor_Doom 0 Share Posted April 11, 2005 We're just humans and we have flaws. Stop buying into the tardy society out there, be happy with what you got, I'm sure you're still one hell of a girl . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
