LASER SCAR TREATMENT

Any injury to the body whether by accident, trauma or surgery, heals by wound healing mechanism. During this repair mechanism the injury site is filled by raw collagen and fibrotic tissue and is called a scar. Some scars heal well and lighten on their own over the years. However, in some patients, due to altered wound healing mechanism, the scars become bigger in size, known as hypertrophic scars or turn into keloids which is blackish brownish thickened growth at the site of scar. Some scars remain depressed due to loss of tissue during the trauma or inflammation, eg Acne scars, stretch marks. While scars cannot be removed completely, most of them can be made to merge with the surrounding skin to make their appearance better and make them almost unnoticeable. This can be achieved with technologies like micro-needling radiofrequency, fractional CO2 laser, Erbium YAG laser etc.

Laser scar treatment can effectively treat:

• Acne scars
• Chicken pox scars
• Stretch marks
• Burn Scars
• Hypertrophic scars
• Keloids
• Post-surgical scars
• Post accidental scars

Different techniques and lasers are chosen depending on the size, colour, thickness of the scar. When a laser shot is given at the site of scar, it produces multiple micro traumas without damaging surrounding healthy skin. This leads to the proliferation of fibroblasts and new collagen formation which replaces the bad collagen and fibrous tissue created by the previous scars over next 3-4 weeks. This makes the scar tissue soft, elastic and there is improvement in colour of the scar, reduction in the size of the scars.

Laser scar treatment is done under topical or local anaesthesia, once in 4-8 weeks for 4-6 times to achieve best results. Mild redness may be present after the session which usually vanishes after a few hours or 1-2 days maximum. Adequate sun protection is advised post laser scar treatment to avoid chances of developing pigmentation in the treated area.

Keloid Treatment:

Keloids are scars that grow beyond the original borders of the wound. They are raised, often dark in colour and hard to the touch. They can be painful, itchy, unsightly and may continue to grow if left untreated.

Keloid Treatment Protocol:

Until recently keloids were considered difficult to treat and patients had to bear them lifelong. But with recent advances, keloid treatment has proved to effective in relieving symptoms such as pain, itching, stretching sensation and making them flat.

• Laser treatment :
  Fractional lasers are used to precisely target the keloid tissue. They destroy old excessively grown, deformed collagen in keloids and stimulate production of new, healthy collagen. This leads to the flattening of keloids, change in their colour and thus making their appearance better.
• Injection treatment :
  This is combined with the laser treatment. Intralesional injections consisting of corticosteroids, 5-FU are used. They help in stopping the growth of keloids. They help in remodelling the scar tissue, replacing it with healthy collagen.
• Pressure garments
• Silicon compression sheets

It’s important to control the trigger factors of keloids for best improvement in their size.

• Laser hair removal : Recurrent hair root infections on chest, underarms are known trigger factors for keloids. Hence laser hair removal of these areas along with above-mentioned modalities of keloid treatment have shown best results.
• Treat the infection in time, remove/ drain abscess/sinus.
• To decrease the vascular supply of keloid tissue, vascular lasers or IPL technologies are used.

At LiveYoung Skin & Hair Clinic, we assess your skin type, scar type for laser scar treatment and counsel the patients about realistic treatment outcomes. We use the latest laser scar technology following national and international protocols, strictly adhering to safety guidelines for the best possible results.