Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[jamesizu]

For anyone that has seen scars on post LL'ers or anyone that has personally gotten LL, how bad are the scars? Is it something people would notice if you were walking around with shorts on?

I've googled this subject, but considering how LL is kind of underground, I didn't find much.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

It varies depending on the person.  I saw a lot of LL scars in Beijing, and some people's looked really bad while others' were barely noticeable.  Same doctors, same devices, but some people had big brown scars and others had light little scratches.

I got scar revision surgery done by a plastic surgeon so mine are barely noticeable now.  I posted pictures in the have questions for someone who had LL six years ago thread.

[jamesizu]

How much did your scar removal cost, Medium?

[Doflamingo]

Scars are the least i worry about since you can permanently treat them, with cremes or laser.

[jamesizu]

Well this takes off yet another worry and doubt off my decision. Just looked up some scar revision before and afters, and they looked amazing. Some scars were ten times worse than I'd ever imagine an LL scar looking, and they were near to invisible in the "after" picture. I can't tell you guys how helpful ya'll have been. I wouldn't even know where to begin if it weren't for this forum.

Yay.

[Taller]

Well this takes off yet another worry and doubt off my decision. Just looked up some scar revision before and afters, and they looked amazing. Some scars were ten times worse than I'd ever imagine an LL scar looking, and they were near to invisible in the "after" picture. I can't tell you guys how helpful ya'll have been. I wouldn't even know where to begin if it weren't for this forum.

Yay.

Hey Jamesozu,
Do you think you could post those pics you found in this thread? It would be very helpful. I've heard that the trick is to do a burn-removal surgery to get white line scars instead of the nasty pinhole scars, then get laser treatment on the white lines, which are the kinds of scars laser treatment was designed for. This makes your scars more or less invisible.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

How much did your scar removal cost, Medium?

-16 scars for $5000 by a plastic surgeon in Beverly hills.
-2 scars for $800 by a burn specialist (the difficult to remove osteotomy scars that the plastic surgeon wouldn't operate on).

The good thing is you can spread out the surgeries, getting a few scars done at a time rather than paying one big fee like LL.  Also, this was like going to Paley for LL: top-notch but very expensive treatment done in the U.S.  I'm sure it could be done for much less elsewhere.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Hey Jamesozu,
Do you think you could post those pics you found in this thread? It would be very helpful. I've heard that the trick is to do a burn-removal surgery to get white line scars instead of the nasty pinhole scars, then get laser treatment on the white lines, which are the kinds of scars laser treatment was designed for. This makes your scars more or less invisible.

Excisions leave you with little red lines that will turn white on their own after a few months.  Lasers target colors and wouldn't do anything to a white scar.  This is why blonde-haired or dark-skinned people can't get laser hair removal.

[jamesizu]

@Tall

I just went on Google and looked up revision scar removal and went on a Google images "Before and after" spree. Here's a few, though.

http://www.sangitacpatelmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ScarBA1.jpg

http://www.thomaschicagoplasticsurgery.com/images/scar%201AB.jpg

I can't find the specific picture. But just go this review site and look at this ladies scar removal. http://www.realself.com/review/livingston-nj-scar-removal-scar-revision-11-months-after-tummy-tuck

[jamesizu]

To Medium, do you get better results with the scar revision when the scars are newer? Or does it not matter how old the scar is? Meaning, you would get the same results regardless of when you got the revision?

[Russianblues]

Scars are awful if you are Caucasian, usually better if you have dark skin. I've never seen amazing results with creams, laser will definitely make it fade and is somewhat cheap although I doubt to the point where it isn't recognizable. One LL patient is doing laser removal so fingers crossed for a very positive result. If you live in a cold climate it doesn't even matter just wear long pants all the time.

I discussed scar removal with Sringari and he advised plastic surgery after 6 months offering a discount for his LL patients I believe  . I think he inferred his hospital would do it not himself as he is not really geared that way. He quoted an end result of a fine white line which would be acceptable to me although it's undoubtedly going to involve more surgeries and a couple thousand dollars at least. Which is a small price to pay to get these ghastly gashes off my legs.

MDOW I am almost positive there are some lasers that operate differently. Fraxel laser is a decent treatment for acne scarring which is almost always the same complexion as one's own skin.

[Medium Drink Of Water]

To Medium, do you get better results with the scar revision when the scars are newer? Or does it not matter how old the scar is? Meaning, you would get the same results regardless of when you got the revision?

It does not matter with excisions, since the scar is being cut out.

MDOW I am almost positive there are some lasers that operate differently. Fraxel laser is a decent treatment for acne scarring which is almost always the same complexion as one's own skin.

Acne scar removal works by stimulating collagen growth under the acne pockmarks to fill them in.  The scars from my LL were either flat or raised, never dents.  So unless you have indented scars, laser treatments are just going to make them lighter not smaller.

[Blackhawk]

Which is a small price to pay to get these ghastly gashes off my legs.

Hey Russianblues,

Can you post some pics of your scars?

Thank you

[KiloKAHN]

I suppose I'm fortunate in the sense that scars don't matter to me. I've got a bunch of them already after falls from dirt biking and ATV racing in the desert.

[Dingo]

For prevention of scar tissue formation (available in the near future):

Cold Plasma Welding
http://www.ion-med.com/

Dextran Hydrogel
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Scar-free-healing-complete-skin-regeneration-with-Dextran-Hydrogel/320446228073161


For people already with scars (currently available in Europe, Canada and Australia):

ReCell Spray-on Skin
http://www.avitamedical.com/index.php?id=5&ob=1

[Russianblues]

Hey Russianblues,

Can you post some pics of your scars?

Thank you

I just got my frames removed so me legs are all bandaged up, after that I will.

[Sweden]

This is 11 months after first surgery.
Left leg(right looks the same)

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Are those two crosses just above your ankle where the IM nail screws are?

[Doflamingo]

Ive read somewhere that it takes your body 2 years to "treat" the scars by itself.
Meaning after 2 years if there are any nasty scars left it will probably stay this way.
But realistic, you already know from the start how it eventually will look in the future.
I falled nasty off my bike and it left a huge scar, my scar still look like how it was 2 weeks after it healed. Its more then a year and half now.

I'll simply laser scars away, shouldnt cost too much, especially on asian countries and i dont think there would be anyy big complication.

[KiloKAHN]

When I was in Beijing I started seeing this waitress who I found out had an operation in the past to remove the sweat glands from her underarms. There were these huge scars covering both her armpits. Fortunately they were in a place where not many people see. The scar issue seems to be more of an issue for women, I would think. Guys can at least get that rugged look going for them with scars.

[Sweden]

Are those two crosses just above your ankle where the IM nail screws are?

Exactly.

[crimsontide]

Scars are worse for dark skinned people. . Btw medium,  the one on your knee , that's from the im? It's much worse than the others

[Medium Drink Of Water]

Yeah, that one at the knee is from the IM nail.  It's also hard to get rid of with plastic surgery since the skin stretches out quite a lot whenever you bend the knee.

My IM nail scars were actually little white lines until they took the nails out, though.  Having an additional surgery at the same incision site made the scars worse.

[crimsontide]

If that's the case, if I got lon,  I'd just keep the nail in

[kneehowguys]

Does anything bad happen if you keep the nail in?

[Medium Drink Of Water]

If it's giving you discomfort, that discomfort will continue forever.  But if it feels fine, no.

[onedayillgrow]

Sweden, after all this pain, do you still consider your journey worth it?