A scar may fade so much that you can barely see it, but it never completely goes away. Some scars cause problems months or years later. As nerve endings grow back, the scar may become painful or itchy. Skin cancer can develop in scars, especially in burn scars.
Old wounds open.
There isn't enough collagen left in your body to continue creating scar tissue, so old wounds may start opening.
Without enough vitamin C, the collagen is made poorly and is therefore unstable: capillaries burst, wounds remain open, and, since your body is constantly replacing the collagen in scar tissue, old scars can reopen.
In time, some collagen breaks down at the site of the wound and the blood supply reduces. The scar gradually becomes smoother and softer. Although scars are permanent, they can fade over a period of up to 2 years. It's unlikely they'll fade any more after this time.
After your skin is injured, your cells try to repair it by forming a scar. In some people, the scar tissue keeps forming long after the wound heals. This extra scar tissue causes the raised area on your skin that is called a keloid. Doctors still aren't sure why some people's skin scars this way.
A scar may fade so much that you can barely see it, but it never completely goes away. Some scars cause problems months or years later. As nerve endings grow back, the scar may become painful or itchy.
The wound may come apart if it does not heal completely, or it may heal and then open again. A surgical wound is an example of a wound can that develop dehiscence. Wound dehiscence can become life-threatening.
The Connection Between Old Scars and Itching
Scars from burns, contractures, may make your skin stretch tightly. Healed burn scars may often trigger an itchy sensation due to the skin tightness.
Fibroblasts, which are cells that form during scar tissue growth, are responsible for fibrosis. If the fibroblasts do not clear over time, they cause prolonged inflammation. Other symptoms associated with scar tissue include itching, swelling, and tenderness or sensitivity.
Histamine is one of the major causes of scar itchiness. Upon its release, histamine activates nerve fibers in the skin that signal the brain that there is an itch. Another reason why your scar feels tight and itchy is due to the third phase of the wound healing process: proliferation.
Hypertrophic scars occur when there is a lot of tension around a healing wound. These scars are thick and raised, and often red in color. They may remain like this for several years. Hypertrophic scars are the result of an imbalance in collagen at the site of the wound.
If the incision has just started to open, with only a small part spreading apart, cover it with a clean bandage and call your surgeon. If it is open wide, cover it, call your surgeon, and expect to go to the nearest emergency room.
A dehisced wound can appear fully open – the tissue underneath is visible – or it can be partial, where just the top portion of the skin has torn open. The wound could be red around the wound margins, have drainage, or it could be bleeding or seeping, where only a thin trickle of blood is coming out.
Scar revision is surgery to improve or reduce the appearance of scars. It also restores function, and corrects skin changes (disfigurement) caused by an injury, wound, poor healing, or previous surgery.
Scar tissue can linger in your body for a long time without treatment. However, health care professionals, such as physical therapists, can help you break up scar tissue so you can recover from your surgery or injury with less pain and stiffness.
Scar revision surgery will help make your scar less noticeable so that you can gain your confidence back since the procedure makes it cosmetically appealing. Also, the good results are long-lasting. Therefore, scar revision surgery is indeed worth it.
Chronic burn scars often cause various skin malignancies at rates of up to 2%. These lesions are usually squamous cell carcinomas, but rarely, malignant melanoma is reported.
Depending on the location of the scar, acne scars can appear more severe as you grow older because of collagen depletion in the skin. Depressed acne scars or atrophic acne scarring will usually look worse as your skin loses natural volume as part of the natural aging process.
If you have acne scars from your younger days, normal aging will make them worse. However, if you're still young and your scars are getting more prominent after being barely noticeable for years, premature aging might be the reason. In fact, acne scarring plus aging often equals the development of premature wrinkles.
A seroma refers to the accumulation of clear fluid under the skin, typically near the site of a surgical incision. A seroma usually forms after some type of reconstructive surgery, during which dead space is created. Seromas vary in size and presence of inflammation, but they typically appear as a soft, swollen lump.
Scar sarcoidosis is characterized by the onset of erythematous swelling and the development of papules and nodules within the original scars. In cases of cutaneous or subcutaneous swelling in the area of an old scar or beside a scar, a scar sarcoidosis is a possible differential diagnosis (1).