Q. I had a belly button piercing done when I was much younger.  I no longer wear any jewelry in my belly button, but unfortunately I have a large pierce hole that is noticeable when I have my bathing suit on.  Can this be fixed?

A. Yes, the hole that was left behind from your piercing can be removed.  It does require making an incision above your belly button to remove the hole, therefore you will have a scar from the surgery.  However, the scar will be at the top of the belly button, usually heals well, and is typically less noticeable that a large pierce mark.  It is performed under local anesthesia, and you can expect to return to work the next day.  It typically takes about a year before the scar fades.

Q.  When my husband was younger he put earlobe dilators in his ears to gradually make a large hole in the earlobes.  The holes are now about as big as a quarter.  He no longer puts the grommets in his ears but the holes are still large and ugly and the earlobes are loose and dangle.  Can his ears be repaired?

A. Yes, the earlobes can be repaired.  It is a bit more challenging than the belly button repair referred to in the previous question, but the earlobe can be returned to nearly normal.  The procedure requires a redesign of the lobe in order to remove the hole, but in my experience with repairing a handful of these, the results are excellent.  The surgery is performed under local anesthesia and he will need to wear small protective bandages over each earlobe for a week or so, but otherwise a return to normal activities can be expected fairly quickly.  There are some scars that can be expected with the repair, but the scars fade nicely over about a year.

Q. As a slightly rebellious teenager, I had a butterfly tattooed on my upper back over my shoulder blade.  It was not very big (about 1 inch), but I soon came to regret it.  I saw a plastic surgeon who recommended laser removal but I could not afford the laser.  He said he could cut it off since it was small.  Surgery was less expensive so I went that route.  That was 3 years ago.  I now have a terrible looking scar on my back.  I am getting married next year and the scar is visible in my wedding gown.  I am so embarrassed by it.  Is there anything that can be done to improve the scar?

A. Unfortunately, there is probably very little that can be done without additional surgery.  The problem is that the upper back is notorious for not producing the best scars after a surgical procedure, and sadly, the scar that results from a revision procedure may not be much better.  You should consult with a plastic surgeon to see if scar revision is an option, but in my experience the new scar may look similar to the old scar.

Sometimes laser can successfully shrink a scar, but the only way to know is to see a plastic surgeon or dermatologist familiar with lasers.  Lasers often do not work well on mature or older scars.

Another option I have seen to camouflage scars is to tattoo a design that incorporates the scar in the body art.  I know that the reason you have the scar is that you did not like your tattoo, however you have to decide what is worse, the scar or a new tattoo.  This is a radical step and I am not suggesting that this is what I would do, but I have seen it work to hide bad scars.  Good luck!

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William Byron Barber II, M.D. has been practicing plastic surgery in Greensboro for 20 years and is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery.  He is Chief of Plastic Surgery for Moses Cone Health System, and is an active member of numerous local, regional and national plastic surgery associations.

Visit his website at: www.BarberPlasticSurgery.com or e-mail him at: AskDrBarber@BarberPlasticSurgery.com