Wound healing after a minor procedure – scar or no scar?

A scar is a mark left after a wound or an injury has healed. It’s a natural part of the healing process and most will fade over time, although they don’t always completely disappear.

This is why when carrying out minor surgical procedures, we consent our patients so that they are fully informed about scarring.

To understand a little more about this, let’s delve into the stages of scar formation:

There are 4 stages:

Stage 1:

Haemostasis: looks like it is bleeding.

This occurs immediately after cutting the skin/ injury to the skin. The body responds by trying to stop the bleeding by activating platelets which are cells responsible for clotting. The blood vessels within the wound constrict to help with stopping the bleed. This takes a few minutes.

Stage 2:

Inflammation: the cut scabs over.