Scars can be the result of many injuries to the skin: chicken pox, trauma, acne, surgery. There are also many types of scars. Some scars are "axe-pick" scars, being very narrow and deep. Others are shallow and wide. A variety of treatments are available to improve scars.
- Carbon Dioxide Lasers: are used to improve shallow scars. They work by pulsing a high energy laser light beam on the skin, which vaporizes the water in the top few layers of skin. This exposes the underlying layers of skin, smoothing and contouring the overall appearance.
- Punch excision: This technique is used to remove the deep, narrow "ice-pick" scars. The area is numbed with a local anesthetic and the scar is literally removed with a cookie-cutter like instrument. A suture is sometimes placed to facilitate healing.
- Dermabrasion: Similar to the laser, this technique is used for shallow or wide scars. It can offer a little more aggressive contouring. The technique uses a high-speed rotating instrument to "buff" or "sand" off the top few layers of the skin. Again the skin regenerates from the local hair follicles, providing the resulting smooth contour.
- Subcision: Some scars have a tether which pulls them down as the face moves with dynamic expression. Here the best results come from freeing those tethers which make the scar more pronounced. This is done with a flat, sharp needle-like instrument.
- Chemical peels: Fruits contain a natural acid, which have been developed into facial treatments and peels. Concentrated formulations can be used remove the top-most layers of skin, improving very superficial scars.
The risks of these procedures, as with any procedure which traumatizes the skin, include, but are not limited to:
- bleeding
- infection
- numbness
- scarring
- pain
Most people do not have just one kind of scar, but rather a mix. For this reason, many of these procedures are either performed together, or in a step-wise fashion. Feel free to contact our office for an evaluation of which procedures would benefit you.
