Factors affecting the development of scar formation in abdominal surgery performed for gynecologic and obstetric conditions

Background and Design: The aim of this study is to investigate whether there can be a difference in types of scars developed on the same type of incisions due to cesarean section or benign gynecologic operations, and to examine the effect of regenerative process occurring in the puerperal period on scar formation. Materials and Methods: A total of 586 female patients aged 20-40 years, who applied to our dermatology and gynecology and obstetrics outpatient clinics, were included in this case control study. Patients who were operated due to benign gynecologic conditions were assigned to group 1 (n=293), and those who underwent cesarean section to group 2 (n=293), and the types of scars were compared. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Atrophic and hypertrophic scars were developed in 237 (80.9%) and 56 (19.1%) of group 1 patients, respectively. However, 245 (83.6%) of patients in group 2 had atrophic scars and 48 (16.4%) had hypertrophic scars. In terms of the type of scar distribution, no significant difference was found between the two groups (p>0.05). Patients with hypertrophic scar formation constituted 53.8% of group 1 patients and 46.2% of group 2 patients. There was no significant difference between the groups for the risk of hypertrophic scar formation (p>0.05) Conclusion: Our study concluded that there is no significant difference in scar formation on abdominal incision site between benign gynecologic surgeries performed at any period of childbearing age and cesarean section. In addition, the presence of striae, wound infection or hematoma, and duration of wound healing were found to be associated with the risk for hypertrophic scar formation in incision sites in both cesarean section and benign gynecological operations.