Can My Chin Scarring Be Improved?

Q: Dr. Eppley, I am a 28 year-old female and have been struggling very hard from scarring after a too-harsh dermatologic treatment many, many years ago. As a red-blonde I was treated with TCA peeling 30% and prescribed Vitamin A creme. This must have been too much for my thin and sensitive skin. I ended up with scarring on my chin. The upper layer of skin has changed structurally. Really tough to treat and after having sought out help from renowned dermatologists, there is really nothing more we can do.
As the scarring is only in the lower third of chin I came up with an idea: couldn’t we first remove the scarred skin while performing a sort of chin reduction procedure and afterwards elongate it back to its former shape or even a bit longer (which would suit my round face shape)?
Is that even possible? I really don’t want to make things worse.

A: Thank you for your inquiry and detailed history on your chin scarring. What you are describing would be very ill-advised. The scarring that would result from excising the scarred skin segment would be far worse than whatever the chin looks like now. In addition, if that segment of chin pad was excised you could never re-establish the lost chin length.

Dr. Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana