We often see patients who seek help for scars they are unhappy with... A scar occurs when an injury or surgical incision goes through the deeper parts of the dermis and perhaps into the underlying fat layer. Such a scar never goes away.
Over time, all scars mature and appear smaller, but there are many individual factors that affect how a scar looks and how they change. Scars on the face tend to be more subtle than scars on the chest, back and shoulders. Contrary to what you might think, scars become more subtle the older the patient is. This is because young people have very active scar healing and therefore scars can become more red and hard. In addition, their skin is more elastic, which means the scar can increase in width when the stitches are removed.
A scar that has grown in size due to overly active scar healing is called a keloid. On the other hand, if a scar appears raised or thickened, it is called a hypertrophic scar. This type of scar is reddish and can cause itching and stinging of the skin. Keloid scars can often be treated successfully with cortisone, an anti-inflammatory medication.
Scar removal is most often done under local anesthesia. However, larger scars may require general anesthesia.