Greetings, Dr. Naderi,
Answer:
Hi Cass,
It sounds like the cautery that was done on the under surface of your skin flap during the surgery was too aggressive which has resulted in skin damage. These problems should be extremely rare in any plastic surgeon’s practice and I am pleased to hear you are happy with your overall results. It sounds like you have a good surgeon who made a slight over cautery. What he is telling you to do now is correct. Wounds such as this take weeks to heal. The key is to keep them scab free and moist with antibiotic ointment. Once it heals, it will take some attention to prevent a noticeable scar so you should continue to see your surgeon. Once it heals, steroid creams, silicone topical scar treatment lotions and even Pulsed Dye Lasers may be needed. Worse case scenario, he may need to cut out the scar and re-close it nicely. However, all these issues are a matter of getting too far ahead. First thing is first. You have to let the area heal – under his supervision. Once its healed you may not need anything further done or you may need one or more of the above treatments. I hope this helps. I wish you luck.