Scar Less Healing.com Scar Treatments
It is important to understand that, despite the vast array of scar treatments available, no scar can ever me completely removed. All scars are permanent, though they may improve naturally over a period of time. It is possible, however, to improve the appearance of a scar by surgical removal or other scar therapies. What follows is a list of therapies that are used by the medical profession to improve the appearance of scars.
Surgical removal or treatment
There are a multitude of options to treat deeper wounds and scars depending on your particular case: skin grafts, excision, dermabrasion or laser surgery. You can receive a skin graft, where the surgeon removes skin from another area of your body. This is often used in the case of burn victims. If scarring impairs mobility, surgery can help address those problems.
It is recommended that all plastic or cosmetic surgery patients wait at least one year before undergoing any type of scar treatment. Many scars fade and become less noticeable over time. Any surgical removal will always leave a new scar that will take up to two years to mature. Surgery will never remove a scar but can be used to alter its position, alignment or shape. Sometimes, surgery will actually make the scar longer; although its appearance is improved overall. This is particularly important to bear in mind when the scar is in a noticeable location (e.g. face). Surgery may be necessary to release a tight scar near a joint that is restricting movement. In the case of hypertrophic and keloid scars, there is a very high risk of recurrence of excessive scarring after surgery.
Injections
In the case of obvious external scars such as keloids or hypertrophic, a doctor may elect to use steroid injections. A course of steroid injections will help to flatten and soften a hypertrophic or keloid scar. The steroid is injected into the scar itself and very little is absorbed into the blood stream, so side effects are minimal. Injections are repeated every 4-6 weeks and are given under medical supervision. Doctors may use this as a stand-alone treatment, or in conjunction with other treatments.
Collagen Injections
Collagen can be injected beneath a sunken scar in order to build up the level of the skin. The downside is that results are temporary and injections ned to be repeated regularly to maintain the effect. There is also a risk of allergic reactions.
Laser Surgery & Resurfacing
Like surgery, the benefit of laser surgery in the management of scars is limited. The color of a red scar may be improved by management with a vascular laser. It has also been suggested that removing the surface layers of the skin with a carbon dioxide laser may help to flatten scars. However, there are very few long-term studies to prove the effectiveness and safety of this therapy. No matter which operation is performed, it is necessary to ensure the expertise of the operating surgeon.
Pressure Garments
Pressure Garments are only used under the supervision of a health practitioner. They are frequently used for burn scars and very often applied 3-4 weeks after the burn when the wound has already healed substantially. Pressure garments are specially fitted and should feel like a second skin of elastic fabric. They work best when worn 24 hrs a day for 6-12 months, and very often in combination with silicone gel sheeting. It is believed that the continuous pressure on the surface blood vessels over a period of months result in the scars become softer, flatter and become paler.
Radiotherapy
Low-dose, superficial radiotherapy may reduce the recurrence rate of hypertrophic and keloid scars after surgery. It is effective in about 70% of cases but is reserved for the most serious cases because of the possibility of long-term side effects.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is a technique that uses revolutionary equipment to freeze the scar tissue using liquid nitrogen. Research suggests that this technique is only effective in around 30% of cases and it is mainly used to improve scars on the shoulders or back.
Dermabrasion
Dermabrasion can be used to reduce irregularities in the skin surface associated with scarring. This involves the removal of surface skin with high-quality equipment and usually involves a general anaesthetic. It may be helpful where the scar is raised above the level of the surrounding skin but is less useful when the scar is sunken or pitted.
Liposuction
Liposuction involves the removal of normal fat from beneath the skin. This has a limited role in evening out the contour around a sunken scar.
Silicone Gel Sheets
Silicone gel sheeting was developed in the 1980's and has been used by over 1 million people throughout the world. Both waterproof and flexible, silicone gel sheets look and feel like transparent gelatin and work by flattening, softening and fading red and raised scars. Being flexible, they are comfortable to wear and easy to apply, even on awkward areas such as joints. The sheet is easily cut to fit the scar.
Cosmetic Camouflage
Cosmetic camouflage is not scar therapy in the strict sense of the term, but can be very effective in disguising a scar, birth mark, 'port wine' mark or vitiligo (a condition which destroys pigment in the skin causing white patches). |
