Scars are the parting gift of cancer!
My awesome surgeon nudged me to consider revision treatment. I own my scars baby! My surgeon minimized the impact where possible, but saving my life was paramount.
On the surface, my vanity levels have always been pretty low on the scale of human concerns. And when folks inevitably hit me with the “What happened?” it just rolls right off my back.
I’ve always thought scars were a nice trophy of living, token of adventure if you will, so I never seriously considered getting revision. So glad I see it that way, and honestly, my scars aren’t bad.
Learning about medicine and research really fascinates me, so I decided to explore it further.
But choosing not to be bothered doesn’t mean not optimizing. I can’t ignore the limitations they’ve brought. Like… I should probably be able to feel my neck, right? So while I’m cool with the marks, I’m also allll about leveraging modern medicine.
That’s where Dr. Dey steps in.
You know, when you think of plastic surgeons, you might picture them inserting implants and lip filler all day. And sure, some do. But in reality, they’re not just changing appearances, they are changing lives.
I learned that Dr. Dey found he didn’t like being the bearer of bad news in other medical fields. Plastic surgery, for him, is his true calling, and a chance to bring hope and restoration.
Dr. Dey truly feels like the final touch to recovery, helping you genuinely move on from cancer.
He does a lot of work with facial paralysis, which I initially had.
Even though mine slowly healed, man, what incredible work it is to help someone get their smile back. It brings back so much more than just an expression, it literally brings back a part of their spirit.
It’s hard to feel like yourself again when you can’t express emotions in the way you once did. He gives back a piece of who you are.
We talked about how we can totally improve their look and how they feel, but they won’t magically disappear. First up, my right neck scar. This one is hypertrophic. Basically, it got a little overzealous with healing and ended up raised and I can’t feel the surrounding areas. So, during my last visit, I got an intralesional Kenalog injection directly into it.
Scientifically, this is called triamcinolone, and it is injected right into the scar which helps to flatten it out by taming all that extra collagen production.
For the first time since surgery, I can feel my neck again. That sensation was completely gone after the surgery because of how dense the scar tissue was, so having that feeling return is pretty wild.
Once that neck scar is flatter, the plan is to hit it with a Vbeam laser. This is a super cool laser that specifically targets redness. So, it won’t fix the texture (that’s what the Kenalog is for), but it’ll help blend that color difference so it looks more like the surrounding skin.
Then there’s the scar on my left forearm from the radial forearm free flap surgery. This one has more to do with contour and color difference. For this scar, we’re starting with a CO2 laser. This is a precise laser that works by essentially vaporizing tiny columns of tissue to reshape and blend the scar edges. It’s all about making the overall contour smoother. This one’s a bit more intense, and we’ll use a topical anesthetic beforehand. After the CO2, there’s about a 2-3 month healing period, where I’ll be super careful with wound care and keeping the area clean. Once that’s all healed up, we might follow up with the Vbeam laser here too, to tackle any lingering redness or discoloration.
It’s precisely controlled damage to achieve nice looking regeneration! It’s super cool to learn and research about.
This is planned to occur in October.
Overall, as you can tell, I’m super intrigued for the advancements and research in medicine!
He describes it as he does life changing work, giving people back a sense of normalcy and confidence they thought was lost. I was truly honored to meet Dr. Dey, chat with him, and witness his dedication firsthand.
You can see his life changing work here.
Thanks, Dr. Dey.
Kam
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