5 Surgical Tips to Prevent Scarring

5 Tips on How to Prevent a Scar...

When performing dermatologic surgery on your patients, remember these 5 helpful pearls:

1. Ensure your wound edges are APPROXIMATED and DEBEVELED (wound edges are 90 degrees)
2. Avoid a “step off” (When one side of the wound is higher than the other and edges are not even)
3. Evert when can (using the Set Back Dermal Technique….my fav subcuticular technique!)
4. Undermine to alleviate tension
5. Position subcuticular sutures meticulously while, also, remembering to use the appropriate size/strength of suture for long term wound support and to minimize suture reaction

If you look at the pic to the left, you can see there is a 1mm gap of space between the wound edges.  

The picture to the right shows how the patient healed at his 2 week postop visit...with a widened scar 😩!

Wounds contract and stretch over time, as well, so there is a high probability that this can develop into an even more noticeable scar 😞 ! 

So, next time you perform surgery on your dermatology patient, remember these 5 tips to help keep your patients happy!

Serving with Gratitude,

Theresa Talens, DNP, FNP-C (TheresaSurgDermNP) ❤️

Check out website: P.U.L.S.E. Dermatology & Procedures