SCAR TREATMENT
Severe scarring on the face, hands, and neck can be socially debilitating for some. If the appearance of scars bothers you, there are various treatments available for scar revision. At WellMedica, we provide you the latest, least painful, and most effective treatments out there in the market for treating and removing scars.
SCAR TREATMENT | BEFORE & AFTERS
OUR SCAR TREATMENTS
VISIA SKIN
ANALYSIS
VISIA Skin Analysis allows us to better understand your skin, and in this case, your scars. Understanding the severity of your scars is the first step towards taking back your healthy, scar-free complexion. Read more about this process below.
VBEAM
The Candela Vbeam produces an intense, but gentle, burst of light that selectively destroys the blood vessels of your spider veins, without damaging the surrounding tissue. After laser treatment the surrounding tissue is left intact
CHEMICAL PEELS
At WellMedica, we provide our customers with a chemical solution that is applied to the skin which makes it “blister” and eventually peel off. The new skin is then smoother and can help improve skin that has previously been scarred.
FRAXEL C02
Fraxel CO2 Laser is an amazing treatment that uses laser technology to help remove years off your appearance. With age our skin gets older, and more damaged.
MORPHEUS8
Morpheus8 treats body and facial scars, improves wrinkles, lines, and sagging skin non- surgically.
BELLAFILL FOR SCARS
Bellafill (formerly known as Artefill) is an injectable wrinkle filler that provides long lasting wrinkle correction. The body absorbs other fillers and requires frequent repeat injections to maintain the results.
BOTOX
Botox is a simple, non-surgical, treatment that can temporarily smooth moderate to severe fine lines and wrinkles. It relaxes facial muscles so you can smile, frown or look surprised without furrows, creases, and wrinkles.
MICRONEEDLING
The SkinPen® by Crown Aesthetics, is the first and only FDA-cleared microneedling device. It is a revolutionary option to restore beautiful, youthful skin at much lower risk and downtime.
VENUS VIVA MD
Venus Viva™ MD, is a device that allows us to gain the results of full face laser resurfacing without the downtime and risks. Click below to learn more about Venus Viva.
VIBRADERMABRASION
vibraderm is an effective treatment to treating scars, hyperpigmentation, uneven skin texture, and fine lines
How Does Scarring Happen?
Scar tissue forms as your body heals from a dermal injury. Although you may experience minor cuts and injuries, not all of them will turn into scars. For a scar to form, the wound must go deep enough to harm the inner layers of skin (the dermis).
When we injure the deeper dermal layers, your cells begin to make collagen and fibrous tissues to repair the wound. Scar formation occurs as a result of the fast growing cells that close up the site of the injury. Unfortunately, the new tissues holding the skin together will be thicker and less flexible, resulting in a jagged or raised appearance.
What Are The Types of Scars?
There are many different types of scars including:
Keloid scars
This type of scar is the result of an overly aggressive healing process. They often extend past the original injury site. As time goes on, they may impede movement. More invasive measures are often used to remove or decrease the appearance of these scars. Treatment may include: surgical removal of tissues, steroid injections, laser treatments, or silicone sheets to flatten the scar. Some smaller keloids can be treated by a freezing technique using liquid nitrogen (also known as cryotherapy). A keloid scar may be prevented with pressure treatment or gel pads at the time of the injury. Keloid scars are more common in people with a darker skin type.
Contracture scars
Contracture scars, or burn scars, are more severe and often impair the ability for a person to move. They drastically tighten the skin and often go deeper than the dermal layers, affecting muscles and nerves. Therapy and other medical treatments are often required to help the body heal during its recovery process. In some cases, treating severe burns quickly can help effectively prevent severe scarring.
Hypertrophic scars
A hypertrophic scar is similar to a keloid scar in that it is often raised and red. However, they do not extend the boundaries of the injury. Treatments for hypertrophic scars are often the same as keloids.
Stretch Marks
Stretch marks often develop as skin expands or shrinks very quickly, causing minor damage to the connective tissues underneath. Often, this occurs during pregnancy, puberty, or due to weight gain, or even during some weight loss programs. Stretch marks typically appear on the breasts, stomach, thighs, and upper arms.
Acne scars
Severe acne can often leave behind significant scarring. There are many types of acne scars – ranging from deep pits, angular or wave-like scars, and even some slightly raised scars. Treatments may vary depending on the type of scar.
WHAT ARE POSSIBLE TREATMENTS FOR SCARS?
There are many options available for scar treatment. Some of the more common scar treatments to encourage healthy skin, decrease the appearance of old scars, and helps achieve a more natural look include:
Surgical Removal or Non-Surgical treatment:
Although there are many non-surgical options available, there are times when deeper scars need more intensive, invasive treatment. Skin grafts are the more common surgical method for treating scars. A skin graft takes skin from another area of the body and replaces the damaged skin. This is more common for those with severe burn scars or a scar that impairs function. Surgical scars are often removed in a similar fashion. We recommend waiting at least a year before making any decisions involving invasive measures for scar treatment as a lot of scars fade and become less noticeable over time.
Laser Treatment:
Laser treatment can prevent a raised scar from forming after surgery, reduce scar pain and itch, and increase your range of motion if a scar limits movement; it can even improve the appearance of stretch marks. These treatments can also make a scar less noticeable, but it cannot get rid of a scar. When you have laser scar treatment, you’re replacing one scar with another less-noticeable scar.
To give a patient long-lasting results and the most improvement, a series of laser treatments are recommended. To give patients the best results, Dr. Dima often uses more than one treatment for scars such as injecting fillers.
Injections:
Steroid injections help treat raised scars. They are often used alone, but can also be paired with other options.
Other injections may include collagen fillers or Botox to help treat pitted or deep scarring. However, these options are not permanent.
What Are Your Options for Effective Scar Treatment?
VISIA Skin Analysis
VISIA is a unique imaging technology that scans your skin and captures key visual information using multi-spectral imaging and analysis that helps to discover effective ways to improve scars and your personal skincare concerns. It also saves money by allowing you to focus on the areas of most need. With VISIA, you can better understand your skin rejuvenation goals. VISIA allows Dr. Dima to recommend customized treatments and products based on detection and overall evaluation to improve your skin’s glow, look and feel.
Laser Resurfacing
Laser resurfacing uses a laser to send out brief pulses of energy that are absorbed by water and other substances in the skin. The heat from this energy vaporizes thin sections of skin, layer by layer, removing unwanted scarring, wrinkles, and more. New, fresher skin will then grow in its place revealing a more youthful appearance. This procedure promotes natural collagen production in order to stimulate the skin for a healthy healing process and smoother skin.
Laser resurfacing is an effective treatment for superficial scars caused by acne, surgery, or trauma.
Chemical Peels
Chemical peels improve the texture and appearance of the skin by sloughing off the outer layers. This solution works by reacting with the upper layer of the skin to efficiently dissolve the bonds that bind surface cells to the skin, ultimately revealing smoother, healthier skin underneath. Depending on the type of peel, superficial peels exfoliate the skin and can help clear acne while moderate and deep peels can help reduce scarring.
Bellafill
Bellafill is a revolutionary new treatment for moderate to severe acne scars. It’s an FDA-approved 5 year filler that works with your body, helping it produce more collagen and fill in the lost areas from those pesky marks on your checks! The PMMA cells help replace the lost collagen from the scars. The effects are immediate, so you’re never waiting long before seeing beautiful results again.
Sculptra® Aesthetic
Sculptra is a versatile injectable biocompatible filler composed of poly-l-lactic acid. It can be used to create volume and stimulate the production of collagen, making it an ideal choice for treating certain types of acne scars. Sculptra also has the ability to gently stretch the skin’s surface which minimizes any appearance from atrophic scars left behind following surgery or other trauma such as animal bites or burns that may have caused permanent scarring on your body. Most patients require two sessions for this treatment with additional treatments being highly recommended in more severe cases requiring up to three sessions if necessary.
OnabotulinumtoxinA (Botox)
Sometimes the skin around acne scar puckers. Injecting Botox relaxes the surrounding skin, which may improve the appearance of an acne scar. Results are temporary, so repeat treatments are needed to retain the effect.
Microneedling
Microneedling is a skin care technique that uses small needles to puncture the surface of your skin. The process produces more collagen, which helps you get smoother looking and feeling skin by filling in fine lines, wrinkles and scars from past injuries. Microneedling can also be used for:
burn scars
acne scars
surgical scars
melasma
sun damage
stretch marks
sagging skin
large pores
hair loss
Microneedling has been shown to be most effective with depressed scarring rather than raised scarring. Because microneedling helps the skin produce collagen, it lifts the depressions in the skin. Raised scars are often a sign of excess collagen in that area.
Microneedling is also considered one of the safest options for men and women with darker skin tones (compared to other minimally invasive treatments such as laser therapy). Microneedling is also generally safer for people with thinner or more sensitive skin as well.
CAN SCARS BE REMOVED PERMANENTLY?
No. Unfortunately, scars cannot be removed permanently. Once a scar becomes permanent, a variety of treatment options can be used to remove the outer layer of damaged skin, decreasing the appearance of scars. These options are more for scar revision, smoothing the skin, improving tone, and help reduce noticeability.
How to Prevent Scarring?
When you first notice an injury to your skin, there are a few steps you can take to prevent the potential scarring. Scars may often appear due to poor aftercare or elemental exposure. When you are injured first:
- Always clean the cuts, scrapes, or other skin injuries as soon as possible: Gently wash the area with a mild soap and warm water to remove debris and keep out germs.
- Use petroleum jelly to help the healing process and prevent the development of thick scar tissue: petroleum jelly keeps the wound moist and prevents scabbing. Scabbed wounds often take longer to heal and can leave behind a larger scar. As long as the wound stays clean, there’s no need for antibacterial ointments.
- After cleaning the wound and applying ointment, protect the injury with an adhesive bandage: If you have an adhesive allergy, try using gauze sheets with paper tape.
- Clean and change the bandage daily to prevent infection.
- If stitches are needed, follow your doctor’s advice for wound care and discuss treatment options once the stitches have been removed.
Use sunscreen! Protecting your skin from sun damage is important for your health, but also in preventing scar discoloration (which can make them more obvious). Always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a higher SPF, reapply frequently!
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