There are athletes who see their knee surgery scars as badges of honor. They have endured this pain and this scarring for their sport, their craft. But for someone who's had knee arthroplasty because of arthritis or a degenerative disease, knee surgery scars are just scars. Embarrassment over the scarring can cause women to wear long, unfashionable skirts or slacks or for men to refrain from wearing anything except long pants, even during hot weather. They won't be seen in a bathing suit or anything else that might reveal their scarred knees.
There are now several remedies for knee surgery scars to change the appearance and allow people to wear summer clothes without embarrassment. One way to erase or fade scars is through laser surgery. Laser surgery has changed over the years to the point where the application of a laser will only take away the scar and leave the surrounding healthy tissue untouched. This wasn't always the case.
Fillers like collagen skin grafts can also be used to fade scars. The skin is taken from a skin bank and the collagen removed. Collagen is the soft, spongy layer in the middle layer of skin or the dermis, which supports the epidermis, or upper layer. The collagen is purified, then dried and sculpted into shapes. About a half an hour before the procedure, the dried collagen is floated in saltwater until it expands. The dermatologist then cuts it into the size and shape of the scar and applies it to the knee through minor surgery. A local anesthesia will be applied, so there might be some swelling afterwards. After healing, the scar should be diminished. These results last from about a year and a half to three or four years.
Another treatment is scar removal creams, which may contain ingredients like vitamins and silicone. These creams are rubbed into the scars in the morning after a bath and at night before the patient goes to bed. The scar is cleaned and the dead skin around it gently washed away. The cream is gently massaged into the skin. This massage breaks up the scar's collagen, which is weaker and less effective than the collagen found in normal skin. Dermatologists tell their patients to use the cream for a minimum of 60 to 90 days, although with an older scar it might take a longer time for the patient to see improvement. Some patients start to see improvement about two to six weeks after starting the treatment.
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