How to Treat Scars After Surgery

One of the most common after-effects of surgery is scarring. Scars occur due to fibrous tissue forming over a wound during healing. There are different degrees of scarring with certain people. For example, older individuals and smokers tend to scar more than others. There are some initiatives that can be taken to treat scars after surgery to make them less noticeable.

Instructions

• 1

  Limit physical exertion during your surgical recovery period in order to keep your blood pressure down. This will help reduce the amount of scarring that occurs from your operation.

• 2

  Ask your surgeon about special bandaging or dressings that can help your wounds heal quickly and with minimal scarring.

• 3

  Apply vitamin E to small, shallow scars to help reduce their appearance. There are many lotions and gels on the market that contain vitamin E, but you can also buy capsule supplements that you can break open. You can then apply the gel directly to your scar.

• 4

  Use cocoa butter to help smooth out scarring and diminish scars' appearance. This natural product is found in most pharmacies and in the beauty aisles of grocery stores.

• 5

  Check your pharmacy for at home scar medications that can help treat deep or thick scars. These medications contain ingredients that help rid the area of damaged cells and promote new cell growth.

• 6

  Ask your physician to prescribe a prescription strength topical cream if over-the-counter products do not give you the results you desire. These prescribed medications often contain alpha or beta hydroxy acids that rid the skin of damaged cells so new growth can occur and make the scar less noticeable.

• 7

  Consider having another surgery to help diminish the appearance your scarred area. If your scarring is very severe, it may be necessary to remove the scar tissue so new tissue can fill in the site. This operation is not a miracle cure as there will always be some remaining damaged tissue.