Q: When I was 5 years old, I was climbing a wall when I slipped suddenly. My left cheek was poked and cut by a metal fence on the wall. It was very severe and a lot of blood oozed out from the wound. I was taken to the hospital immediately. The doctor put 14 stitches on my left cheek to seal the hole. I am 20 years old now and I have a scar on the left cheek caused due to the stitches. The scar is about 1 and a half inches long and resembles the alphabet 'J'. I don't have any itching or pain in that area and the stitches have come out. But the stitches have left a mark on my cheek. Why did this happen? How can I get rid of this scar? Is there any medical or cosmetic treatment for this? Can any beauty parlours or health clubs help me get rid of this mark? Should I go for plastic surgery? What would be the cost? Can laser treatment heal this? Is plastic surgery the only solution?

A:This is a common problem, which happens quite often. The scars of a wound or stitches are permanent but if done with lots of care initially they are as minimal as possible. The scars are of the wound as well as cross hatches of stitches. The scars can be reduced by plastic surgery where in the thickness and size is reduced and is placed in such a way that would not be very apparent. Health clubs and cosmetic clinics will not help but you could camouflage the scar with the help of some cosmetics but if it is depressed or elevated then it needs to be revised. Laser can help smoothen the skin a little more after the scar revision is done to give you added advantage.