Back surgery is often performed due to back pain caused by compression of the vertebra, accidents or injuries, certain disorders such as scoliosis, and other problems with the spine. Depending on the need for the surgery, your incision scar can be minimal or very prominent. Surgeons always try their best to minimize any scarring, but it is a natural part of the scar healing process, so there will always be some to contend with. You can expedite the healing process and further minimize any scarring by performing the following actions.
Take Special Care Post-Surgery
After your surgery, your doctor will provide you with a list of discharge actions to take, including taking proper care of the incision. The better you take care of the incision at the beginning of the healing process, the better the skin heals and the less noticeable the scar you will have. First and foremost, you want to prevent any infection from occurring in the area. To do this, keep it covered with bandages and completely dry, clean it often, change the dressing according to what your doctor recommended, and depending on the doctor’s orders, apply some type of antibacterial cream. Stay away from sunlight as well, as this can further damage the skin. You also want to be careful about movement, as this can reopen the incision, which causes further damage to the skin tissue.
Scar Healing
Once your incision is healing and you no longer need the stitches, staples, steri-strips, or other bandages, then you can start to treat the area to help prevent scarring. When the skin heals from any type of injury or wound, including the incision from surgery, scar tissue is part of the healing process. It looks different than normal skin tissue because it grows quickly and does not have the same collagen levels and other properties of normal, healthy skin cells. Due to inflammation and other components of the natural healing process, the area will probably appear red, purple, or otherwise be discolored for a while. Over time, the scar tissue heals and the normal skin cells take the place of the scar tissue. You can expedite this process by treating the area with special scar treatment.
Read: Scar Tissue After Surgery
The Best Treatments for Back Surgery Scars
When searching for a scar treatment cream, you should focus on finding natural, soothing ingredients that will help the skin heal without causing further irritation or other problems. Silicone, vitamin C, and licorice root extract are ingredients that have been shown to help the body’s own natural healing process without causing further problems. You should avoid vitamin E, as this can cause contact dermatitis. Some skin lightening ingredients, such as kojic acid and hydroquinone, can be toxic and further harm your skin, rather than help it. It will still take time for the body to heal, but a scar treatment cream will help to reduce the appearance of your back surgery scar and get the skin back to normal faster.
It can take up to a year for your skin to return to normal. If your back surgery scar continues to be prominent after this time, then you should contact a dermatologist or other medical professional about other options. You might be able to undergo laser surgery or other non-invasive procedures to further reduce the appearance of scars.
Have a question about your scar? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to answer.
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Every once in a while I notice that I have black or dark spots under the skin of my scar. What is it? Should I be worried about it?
Hi Allie, by every once in a while, do you mean sometimes they are not there? Does it coincide with having been outdoors without wearing sunscreen over the scars?