Christine,
I have been using various soft tissue lasers in my dental practice for over 8 years. I provide many services that would not be able to be performed with a scalpel including scar tissue removal. I have attended many lectures on the subject in the scope of Dentistry and the occasional facial cosmetics lecture. I have been certified in the use of dental soft and hard tissue lasers by The Institute for Laser Dentistry.
Lasers for the removal of scar tissue are promising and in some cases can really improve esthetics and function in aresas where previous traditional surgeries have left scar tissue.
Laser surgery will not correct all functional limitations. Laser surgery will not regenerate tisuue that was previously removed.
You are correct in seeking the opinion of a specialist in this area who has experience in facial function and cosmetics.
Wound healing happens in two ways; all wounds and/or incisions heal across the affected area (healing by primary intention) and if large enough and the edges cannot be approximated to each other by sutures staples or other means from the bottom up (healing by secondary intention). When you get a cut or a surgeon cuts you and then closes the area by whatever means you are placing foreign cells against each other and the result is scar tissue. Lasers when used for surgical incisions and/or repair vaporize all the cells in the area of the beam and allow the basement membrane cells to form new cells and tissue and these new cells in the area of the wound will resemble the original tissue without scarring.
If a laser will help you will depend on a couple of factors;
How much tissue was removed? was muscle removed? and how much. Is the mouth restriction due to the closure and scarring of the skin, muscle or both?
If the problem is a result of the closure of the skin and there is no muscle involved you will probably be able to have laser scar tissue removal performed and return to almost normal function. If there is muscle involment then the result may not be as helpful. In either case it may take multiple sessions and be costly.
There is no harm in seeking out someone who has experience in this area and asking questions.
Contact me if you feel I can answer any questions.
Cheers,
Mike