Keloid scars are usually raised, hard, smooth and shiny. They can be skin colour, pink, red, purple, brown, or darker than the skin around them.
As scar tissue begins to form, it may appear red, raised, and hard, but over time it fades, flattens, and softens. Browse our specialists and get the care you need. Depending on the type of injury, the depth of the wound, and the person's skin type, this process takes months.
A keloid scar may form within months to years of the inciting injury. Signs and symptoms might include: Thick, irregular scarring, typically on the earlobes, shoulders, cheeks or middle chest. Shiny, hairless, lumpy, raised skin.
The overgrown scar tissue can get large and may affect movement. Raised (hypertrophic): You can feel a hypertrophic scar when you run your finger over it. These raised scars may get smaller over time, but they never completely flatten out.
Larger keloids can be flattened by pulsed-dye laser sessions. This method has also been useful in easing itchiness and causing keloids to fade. Pulsed-dye laser therapy is delivered over several sessions with 4 to 8 weeks between sessions. Your doctor might recommend combining laser therapy with cortisone injections.
For best results, you should perform scar massage for at least 10 minutes, twice a day, for six months. You should only stop sooner than that if the scar starts showing signs of infection or you experience intolerable discomfort.
Hypertrophic Scars – Raised scars that remain within the boundaries of the initial injury, incision or trauma, hypertrophic scars can be red and raised enough to be readily noticeable. In some cases, hypertrophic scars will fade over time on their own. Other times, they'll require more aggressive treatment to erase.
In scar tissue, collagen proteins grow in a single direction rather than a multidirectional pattern, as in healthy skin. This structure makes scar tissue less elastic, which may cause it to feel tight or restrict a person's range of movement.
Keloids can take 3–12 months to develop after the original injury. They start as raised scars that can be pink, red, purple, or brown and typically become darker over time.
A keloid scar is when a scar keeps growing and becomes bigger than the original wound. It can happen if you have too much of a substance called collagen in your skin. It can happen after any sort of injury or damage to your skin such as a cut, burn, surgery, acne or a body piercing.
After several weeks, the scar that forms may feel hard, tight, raised, or bumpy. Over time, the scar will become softer, smoother, and less red. Your scar will continue to heal for 12 to 18 months after your surgery.
Atrophic scars are the opposite of hypertrophic scars. They are depressed, sunken and often have a pitted appearance.
A seroma typically looks like a swollen, raised area near your surgical site. The swelling usually forms a distinct bulge or lump under your skin that feels firm to the touch, kind of like a water balloon. You might also notice some mild redness in the area.
Breast tissue in and of itself can feel somewhat lumpy and sponge-like, so it can be hard to know if what you're feeling is an actual lump or just normal breast tissue. "A breast lump will feel like a distinct mass that's noticeably more solid than the rest of your breast tissue.
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.
Scars occur at the site of tissue damage and appear as firm red to purple fibrous tissue that over time usually becomes flatter and lighter in color.
You may feel bumps and lumps under the skin. This is normal and is due to the dissolvable sutures under the surface of the skin. These deep sutures take months to completely dissolve and the scar will not be smooth until this time.
Massage. Deep tissue massage and cross-friction massage are two manual therapies that improve mobility, promote healing, break up existing scar tissue, and help prevent it from forming. Scar tissue massage also helps with those aches and pains that develop when tight areas and adhesions impede healthy movement.
Indications of Internal Scar Tissue:
Persistent or recurrent pain in a specific area, particularly after surgery, trauma, or inflammation. Changes in organ function or symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, breathing, or gastrointestinal issues. Restricted range of motion or stiffness in joints or muscles.
Another option is cryotherapy to freeze scar tissue to flatten hypertrophic scars. The type of treatment recommended depends on the size and age of the scar and the skin type of the patient. With the right treatment or combination of treatments, hypertrophic scars can be flattened and made less noticeable.
Increased temperature is a common physiological effect that helps to break down scar tissue. Increased temperature involves both superficial and deep tissues increasing in temperature. Increasing temperature of tissues within the body helps to loosen scar tissue.
You should carry on massaging your scars for at least three to six months after your surgery or injury. What happens if I do not do anything? Your scar could become hard and inflexible or adhesions may form. Scars that cross a joint could stop you being able to bend or straighten the joint (a contracture).
Scar Tissue Release Therapy is a gentle yet effective modality. In your session you may feel such sensations as a slight tugging or pressure as the scar tissue is released.