Scar Removal
Posted by: Laser Treatments MD In: Laser Dermatology| Laser Treatment ()
Image via Wikipedia
Scar Removal Treatments
Scars that you might need to be removed care generally going to be classified as Keloids. Keloid scars are “scars that don’t know when to stop.” A keloid scar, sometimes referred to as a keloid, usually has a smooth top and a pink or purple color and juts up from the surrounding skin. They’re often irregularly shaped and tend to enlarge progressively over tiem. Unlike regular scars, keloids do not subside.
The difference between keloid scars and a hypertrophic scars?
After the skin is injured enough to actually form a scar, the healing process usually leaves a flat scar. Sometimes the scar is hypertrophic (thickened) but confined to the dimensions of the wound. Hypertrophic scars tend to be redder and may subside by themselves (a process which can take one year or more). Treatment such as injections of cortisone (steroids) can speed this scar removal.
Keloid scars, by contrast, may start some time after the injury and extend beyond the wound site. This tendency to migrate distinguishes keloids from hypertrophic scars. Keloids typically appear following surgery or injury, but they can also appear spontaneously or as a result of some slight inflammation. Either way, you’re in for some scar removal treatments.
What distinguishes keloids?
Keloids are raised and look shiny and dome-shaped, ranging in color from pink to red. Some keloids become quite large and unsightly. Aside from causing potential cosmetic problems, these exuberant scars tend to be itchy, tender, or even painful to the touch. Most people want to have some sort of scar removal that doesn’t leave additional scars.
What are the scar removal treatments for keloids?
The methods now available to remove scars are:
- Surgery: This is risky, because cutting a keloid can trigger the formation of a similar or even larger scar. Some scar removal success has been achieved by injecting steroids or applying pressure dressings to the wound.
- Laser treatment: Pulsed-dye lasers can be effective at flattening keloids and removing redness. These laser reatments are genneraly very safe and not painful. Several sessions may be needed.
- Fluorouracil: Injections of this chemotherapy agent, alone or together with steroids.
- Silicone sheets: This involves wearing a sheet of silicone gel on the affected area for several hours a day for weeks or months.
- Cryotherapy: Freezing keloids with liquid nitrogen may flatten them but often darkens the site of treatment. You many need IPL treatments to remove this pigment.
- Cortisone injections (intralesional steroids): These are safe and not very painful. Injections are usually given once per month until the maximum benefit is obtained. Injections are safe (very little steroid gets into the bloodstream) and usually help flatten keloids; however, steroid injections can also make the flattened keloid redder by stimulating the formation of more superficial blood vessels. (These can be treated with laser or IPL treaments)
Keloid scars may look better after laser treatments, but even the best scar removal treatments leave a mark that will look and feel different from the rest of your skin.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=3f1d6c11-4770-4ae3-8973-38c1b9f54848)
