Cosmetic Surgery and Beauty Magazine #68

feature
Preventing scars
You can better manage scarring by being educated and prepared. Communicating
that scarring is a key issue with your surgeon may affect where they make the
incision or the techniques utilised, especially in procedures such as breast
augmentation.
Any wounds should be covered with a light, compressive dressing or pad
post-procedure to keep it moist and prevent a scab forming. A scab can create
a barrier to healing, so by keeping the wound moist you can steer the collagen
away from the surface of the skin.
Once the dressing is removed, use a moisturising lotion to hydrate the skin
around the scar. This improves the healing process and helps ensure a balanced
release of collagen. You don’t need an expensive moisturising cream, just
something you know you have no reactions to initially.
Gently massaging the scar for 30 seconds to a minute several times a day,
from the time the wound has healed over, will assist in breaking up the scar
tissue and help prevent the collagen from becoming lumpy.
What can we do to treat scars?
No scar can ever be removed completely, though they may improve naturally
over a period of time or respond to methods to improve their appearance. It
is best to treat scars early when they are more susceptible to less invasive
treatments, as older scars tend to respond better to more involved treatments
such as laser or surgical removal.
Any wound that
penetrates through
the epidermis and
into the dermis will
cause scarring
Medical treatment
Laser works either by targeting the blood vessels that feed raised red scars or,
in the case of CO 2
lasers, removing the surface layers of the skin. Fractional CO 2
lasers work by ablating discrete columns of tissue to remove some of the scar
and stimulate collagen remodelling to create healthy new skin in its place. It is
important to establish that a fully trained medical practitioner carries out any laser
therapy with experience in improving scars.
However, smaller gestures can be made to improve scars. A course of steroid
injections can help to soften and flatten a hypertrophic or keloid scar.
Pressure garments are most often used for burn scars, under supervision,
once the wound has healed. They are made to fit like a second skin and it is
thought the continuous pressure on the surface blood vessels allow the scars to
become softer, flatter and paler.
Low-dose, superficial radiotherapy may reduce the recurrence rate of
hypertrophic and keloid scars after surgery, and cryotherapy uses specialist
equipment to freeze the scar tissue using liquid nitrogen. Dermabrasion can be
used to reduce irregularities by removal of the surface of the skin with specialist
equipment. 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.
In the case of pitting, dermal fillers can be injected to build up the level of the
skin. However, the effect is temporary and injections need to be repeated at
regular intervals.
At-home treatment
Both waterproof and flexible, silicone gel sheets look and feel like transparent
gelatine and work by flattening, softening and fading red and raised scars. They
are comfortable to wear and easy to apply, even on awkward areas such as
joints, and can be cut to fit. It works by moisturising and covering the scar area,
helping to reduce size and improve the colour and elasticity. csbm
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