Scars

Also called: Cicatrix, Keloid scar
A scar is a permanent patch of skin that grows over a wound. It forms when your body heals itself after a cut, scrape, burn or sore. You can also get scars from surgery that cuts through the skin, from infections like chickenpox, or skin conditions like acne. Scars are often thicker, as well as pinker, redder or shinier, than the rest of your skin.
How your scar looks depends on
How big and deep your wound is
Where it is
How long it takes to heal
Your age
Your inherited tendency to scar
Scars usually fade over time but never go away completely. If the way a scar looks bothers you, various treatments might minimize it. These include surgical revision, dermabrasion, laser treatments, injections, chemical peels and creams.
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What Is a Scar(American Academy of Dermatology)
Basics
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Treatment
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Related Issues
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Research
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Treatment
Dermabrasion(American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
Laser Surgery Information(American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
Scar Revision(American Society of Plastic Surgeons)
Specific Conditions
Acne Scarring(American Academy of Dermatology)
Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars(American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
Tools to Minimize Facial Scars from Skin Cancer Surgery(American Academy of Dermatology)
Related Issues
Answers to Common Questions about Scars(Cleft Palate Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
Scars and Wounds(American Cancer Society)
Pictures & Photographs
Before and After Photos: Treatment of Atrophic Scars(American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
Keloid(Logical Images) Return to top
Clinical Trials
ClinicalTrials.gov: Cicatrix(National Institutes of Health) Return to top
Journal Articles
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Article: Small-bowel obstruction from adhesive bands and matted adhesions: CT differentiation.
Article: Efficacy of intralesional 5-fluorouracil and triamcinolone in the treatment of...
Article: The bright side of the glial scar in CNS repair.
Scars -- see more articles Return to top
Directories
Find a Dermasurgeon(American Society for Dermatologic Surgery)
Find a Dermatologist(American Academy of Dermatology)
Find a Plastic Surgeon(American Society of Plastic Surgeons) Return to top
Organizations
American Academy of Dermatology
American Society for Dermatologic Surgery
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
Also available in SpanishReturn to top
Children
Story on Scars(Nemours Foundation)
Also available in SpanishReturn to top
Teenagers
Can Acne Scars Be Removed?(Nemours Foundation)
Also available in Spanish
Stretch Marks(Nemours Foundation)
Also available in SpanishReturn to top
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Date last updated: 25 March 2009 Topic last reviewed: 28 February 2009