Had cortisone injection for scar tissue

[Kay]

Hi, I had surgery on my chest around 2 years ago which has left me with scar tissue under my right nipple. Yesterday I had a cortisone shot injected into my scar tissue. So far the scar tissue looks like it has raised a little, its still early days. My question is will it help reduce the scar tissue and how long does it take for it to be effective and get a little flatter as for now it has raised slightly but its not really noticeable. 

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Your doctor should have explained to you how cortisone works.

It does "melt" scar tissue.  But first it is injected into the scar -- which makes it bigger -- temporarily.  You should see some softening and improvement within a week.  The full effect takes about 6 weeks to be seen -- so be patient and wait it out. 

If it has improved at 6 weeks, but there still seems to be some thickening, then perhaps another shot would be indicated.....but would wait and see.

Dr Jacobs

[Kay]

thank you very much

[Miguel Delgado MD]

cortisone injection can be very helpful for scar tissue. It needs to be injected carefully and into the scar and not the fat tissue.  This is probably why the scar is swollen.  As Dr Jacobs explained, it really takes 6 weeks to see the result of the injections. one must be patient.