Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Painful Scar: A Narrative Review

Alaa Abd-Elsayed; Jason Pope; Derick A Mundey; Konstantin V Slavin; Steven Falowski; Ahish Chitneni; Stephen R Popielarski; Jarod John; Samuel Grodofsky; Tony Vanetesse; Michael A Fishman; Philip Kim

doi:10.2147/JPR.S355096

Diagnosis, Treatment, and Management of Painful Scar: A Narrative Review

J Pain Res. 2022 Apr 5:15:925-937. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S355096. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesia, Division of Pain Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
² Evolve Restorative Center, Santa Rosa, CA, USA.
³ United Anesthesia Services, P.C., Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA.
⁴ Department of Neurosurgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁵ Neurology Service, Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁶ Neurosurgical Associates of Lancaster, Lancaster, PA, USA.
⁷ Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital - Columbia and Cornell, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ Thermaquil, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, USA.
⁹ Argires Marotti Neurosurgical Associates, Lancaster, PA, USA.
¹⁰ Philadelphia Smart Pain & Wellness, Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA.
¹¹ Center for Interventional Pain Spine, LLC., Wilmington, DE, USA.

Abstract

Painful scars can develop after surgery or trauma, with symptoms ranging from a minor itch to intractable allodynia. The problem of the painful scar may involve both intraneural and extraneural structures, requiring a systematic approach to diagnosis and treatment of this neuropathic pain condition that can impact quality of life and function profoundly. In this review, we outline the algorithm for the diagnosis, management, medical and surgical treatment of painful scars.

Keywords: chronic pain; painful scar; scar pain; surgical scar; thermal nerve block.

Publication types

Review