Does This Forehead Scar Revision Look Normal At This Point After Surgery?

Q: Dr. Eppley,  about three months ago my plastic surgeon cut out a chunk of skin out from the center of my forehead that had pock-like scarring and sutured it together. He told me that once the line heals, it would barely be noticeable and flow in into the creases of my forehead. He did a v-shaped straight line which looks anything at this point but a natural horizontal forehead crease. Is it normal right now for the closure line to appear indented and red and would you recommend Fraxel lasers and silicon strips at this point in time. Is all that i’m seeing pretty normal or did this doctor jack up my face?

A: I do not know what you looked like before and was not involved in how the decision for that approach was decided. I can make no educated comment on the decision for that particular approach to your problem. This is not an approach that I have ever used for pock scarring issues in the forehead. Most certainly if I would have done that large forehead excision I would not have made it v-shaped. There is nothing natural about that scar orientation in the forehead. What I can say is that for three months out in thick pigmented skin, the scar is what I would antiipate…very red and noticeable. It is going to take considerable time for any amount of fading that may occur. Given the way it was done, your scar appearance does not surprise me at this point. I do envision the eventual need for some additional work, whether it is scar revision or fractional laser resurfacing remains to be seen with more time.

Dr. Barry Eppley

Indianapolis, Indiana