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What is the optimal way to improve a strip scar nowadays?

bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
With new advancements in SMP and FUE amongst other methods, i'm now curious as to what people think is the best way for patients with strip scars to improve the look of their scars and achieve the very best disguised look?
I know it depends on the size of the scar obviously and everyones different but i would still like to hear people basic opinions.
 
P

pubster

Valued member
I suppose they both require maintenance. I won't go with a Tattoo, it doesn't sound like a good idea in or on my head. Have you considered grafts into a scar?
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
My scar is great i'm just speaking in general dude and wondering what others have gone for, i personally had a revision and was happy with the result;)
 
Sparky

Sparky

Valued member
I think revise if it's wide and then fue a few years later, imho fue alone doesn't cut it.

I've heard you have to dense pack the scar first time round as subsequent sessions don't yield as well, although I was told the opposite.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Sparky wrote:
I think revise if it's wide and then fue a few years later, imho fue alone doesn't cut it.

I've heard you have to dense pack the scar first time round as subsequent sessions don't yield as well, although I was told the opposite.
Yeah i would revise first too...not sure about the dense packing first time round though....personally i would take it slowly and plant at a lesser density first to see how things go and just what the blood supply is like in the scar tissue. I've seen some amazing results using SMP too on scars but if they are wide i would opt for revise and then FUE myself i think.
 
Sparky

Sparky

Valued member
Wish I had revised first, this is what I wanted but was told it wasn't the best course of action, I regret that I didn't try revision first, but that's out the window now.

I don't know about the dense packing, just something I heard.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Has anyone on here had body hair transplanted into their scars that has made a significant improvement?....i did see a post a while back showing a great result using this so am curious how popular it is.
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
BN,
I think the optimal ways to improve a strip scar is first try a scar revision then fue grafts into the scar. The scar should be a lot smaller after the revision so you won't need as many grafts to fill the scar line since you'd want to keep the limited supply of donor for the top of the head. For patients who have minimal loss and ample donor, fue grafts into the scars. It's likely that you'd need two session of grafting since the donor scars do not have normal blood supply.



Here is a pic of our patient who was about to undergo an FUE procedure.
He had the permanent ink SMP (in LA) into Dr. Ron's Shapiro's strip scar approx. 6 months ago so that he could shave down to a zero or 1 guard. It's allowed him to have a shorter hair cut but we did put some grafts into the scar as well.


 

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janna

janna

Valuable Member
In this side view, he had a small test FUE session few years ago that you can make out some of the white dotting scars.
 

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bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
janna wrote:
BN,The scar should be a lot smaller after the revision so you won't need as many grafts to fill the scar line since you'd want to keep the limited supply of donor for the top of the head.
Thanks Janna, i agree with your opinion regarding the methods but i never really thought about the fact that it would help limit the amount of grafts used.....totally logical thinking about it, but nethertheless it just didn't comprehend to me lol.
I have to admit though the SMP picture does look good too and is a viable option.....especially if the patient keeps the donor area very short.
Thanks BN;)
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
The only minor drawback with the SMP i can see is that if the patient decided to grow their hair a liitle at the back then the scar would show for a short while until it was covered with sufficient length as the SMP mimmicks a very close shaved follicle.....still looks good though.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
For wide scars I'd say have it revised first, then Fue and thirdly Smp if it still bothered you.
 
P

pubster

Valued member
Ah. So is your first preference SMP or scar revision, BN?
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Hi pubster...i would go with a revision if the scar is wide like the others have said dude. SMP is a good option though imo if your planning on keeping your hair extremely short.
 
garageland

garageland

Valued member
If you have the laxity and the scar is wide a revision should be the first option and placing hairs into the scar at a low density first of can break things up and as Janna says a second pass can make all the difference.
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Scar position is important and if too low or high then probably a revision will not be advised. Also possible fibrosis and how the previous scar healed all play a part if wise to revise by cutting out. Even the best surgeons can have stretch back on well positioned scars but revision as such can bring about an improvement but not a one size fits all approach.

FUE in to a scar could be a good option if the donor is still good as Janna says, or if they have beard hair to use and FUE into the scar is usually as said done at lower density, and most if not all of the clinics I have spoken to have this approach and then a second pass can help once the first has yielded and the idea is to camouflage the scar not remove it but break it up and often the skin pigmentation will improve with this. A second pass as said can be done if needed to add density.

For some lesser cases then the donor condition in terms of miniaturisation may also dictate if cutting out the scar or adding grafts to the scar is the better option after weighing the risks and I see a few cases we have had whereby the latter option was the better one due to possible shock loss to the donor if we were to revise by englobing so just to highlight some other factors that may play a part in the decision made of how to revise a scar.
 
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garageland

garageland

Valued member
Sl makes a very good point about the scar and the location on the scalp makes a huge difference if it is too low then the skin here is thinner and prone to stretching and in 99% of cases the laxity after the strip is non existent below the occipital bump. I speak from personal experience as I have a low scar courtesy of our mutual friend Dr Norton that could never be touched with a revision or I would have done it by now.

In this case placing grafts into it would be the best idea also as I said earlier it should be at a low density first as there will not be enough blood supply to support many new grafts.
 
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