Signs of Abnormal Scarring and What you can do About Them

Featuring Dr. Jugpal Arneja, MD, MBA, FAAP, FACS, FRCS
Signs of Abnormal Scarring and What you can do About Them

Duration: 1 minute, 31 seconds

There’s two common types of abnormal scarring, keloid scarring and hypertrophic scarring.

There are certain risk factors associated with each type of scar, but what the patient might see is a red scar, a raised scar, a scar that’s itchy or painful, and these would be signs that you have an abnormal scar and it’s important to seek medical attention from your primary care physician or family doctor.

There’s certain factors for keloid scarring and this could be related to the way a person heals, or alternatively, where the wound is in the body. Certain anatomical areas have a higher risk factor for developing a keloid scar. For example, the chest, the earlobe, and over joint surfaces.

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether a scar is a keloid or a hypertrophic scar, but a good rule of thumb is whether or not the scar is growing beyond the borders of the original injury.

So if your scar is growing beyond the borders of the original injury, it most likely is a keloid scar. A hypertrophic scar is a thickened scar, a red scar generally staying within the borders of the original injury.

Some strategies that might be employed are a steroid injection to help that hypertrophic scar settle. If patients are concerned about whether their scar might be a keloid or a hypertrophic scar it’s very important to seek medical attention.

And your primary care physician or general practitioner can certainly assess the scar initially and if they think it’s important they might refer you on to a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon.

Presenter: Dr. Jugpal Arneja, Plastic Surgeon, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Plastic Surgeon