That Palpatine himself explains it away as being scarred from the attempt on his life only muddies the issue. The most symmetrical scars ever! Then again, the senate is dumb enough to believe anything at this point. The most powerful guy in the universe apparently never gets plastic surgery either.
What still bugs me to this day, is Palpatine ought to be heavily guarded after the kidnapping attempt. The red guards must be on a coffee break when Mace and the Jedi redshirts show up. That the windows blowing out on Palpatine’s personal office doesn’t immediately bring armed guards is even more silly.