Skin Tightning after scar tissue goes away?

[lezgetitdone]

Hello Docs got a question.

I had some decent scar tissue on my left side that has now been shrinking noticeably (month 3-4 post surgery).  Im wondering if the skin that was stretched in that area will tighten in the coming months?  It still hasn't fully absorbed the scar tissue yet but a good portion of it has been absorbed.

Thanks

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Speaking in general, if the skin has been stretched by something (ie scar tissue) underneath, and then that tissue diminishes, then the skin too should tighten up a bit.

Gentle massage with a lubricant may be of help.

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

Hello Docs got a question.

I had some decent scar tissue on my left side that has now been shrinking noticeably (month 3-4 post surgery).  Im wondering if the skin that was stretched in that area will tighten in the coming months?  It still hasn't fully absorbed the scar tissue yet but a good portion of it has been absorbed.

Thanks

How well skin tightens after deflation, either by surgery, by weight loss, or pregnancy is not fully predictable. Factors include the amount of stretching, how long it was stretched, how much of the skin's connective tissue network has broken (stretch marks), age, nature of the person's skin, how many times it has been stretched before, scar tissue, and many other factors. That is why I designed a demonstration of air let out of a balloon series of photographs on this Nipple Areola Reduction demonstration. Check the second and third examples. Areola reduction is a form of skin shrinkage problem. Notice how the air deflation in the first balloon results in the areola shrinking down?  Yet in another balloon with different "skin dynamics," the deflation resulted in the same size areola: it did not shrink!  Real tissues behave in a similar fashion.

Being patient and waiting to see what happens is often the best first approach.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
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