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, or previous surgery.

Scar tissue forms as skin heals after an injury (such as an accident) or surgery. The amount of scarring may be determined by the wound size, depth, and location; the person’s age; heredity; and skin characteristics including color (pigmentation).

Scar revision is unique in the spectrum of facial plastic and reconstructive surgery because the initial traumatic event and its immediate treatment usually cannot be controlled. Patients who are candidates for scar revision procedures often present after significant loss of regional tissue, injury that crosses anatomically distinct facial aesthetic units, wound closure by personnel less experienced in plastic surgical technique, and poor postinjury wound management.