Enhancing Self Image with Scar Revision

Posted on 05/30/2012 by Michael James

Enhancing your appearance with scar revision surgery

Most people are not happy about having scars. Facial scarring is often a source of self-consciousness though scars almost anywhere can be disturbing to a person. Scar revision is a surgical procedure which can greatly improve the appearance of scars and enhance one’s self confidence. Facial scar revision is a sought after cosmetic procedure.

There are different scar revision techniques. The best technique that is right for a person depends on the type of individual scar, your skin type and other factors. Scar revision does not completely remove a scar but rather minimizes its appearance as much as possible.

Scars are visible marking, formation or discoloration on the skin after the complete healing process of a wound. They are often unavoidable consequence of minor and traumatic injury and or surgery. A scars development is not predictable. Poor healing can cause scars that are obvious, unsightly and disfiguring. A wound that heals well can still result in a scar that adversely affects your appearance. Scars may be raised or recessed, different in color or texture from surrounding healthy tissue or particularly noticeable due to their size, shape or location.

Treatment Options

Treatment options vary based on the type and degree of scarring. Treatments can include:

Over the counter topical treatments
Prescription topical treatments
Minimally invasive dermatological procedures
Cosmetic surgical revision with advanced techniques in wound closure

The purpose of scar revision surgery is to minimize the scar so that it is more consistent with your surrounding skin tone and texture; in plain terms to reduce the scars visibility. Scar revision provides a more pleasing cosmetic result or improve scar that has healed poorly. However, a scar cannot be completely erased.

Determining if Scar Revision is Right for You?

Scar revision is a very personal decision. A person should do it for their self, not fulfill an ideal image Scar revision can be performed on people of any age and is a good option for you if:

You are bothered by a scar anywhere on your body
You are physically healthy
You have a positive outlook and realistic goals for your scar revision surgery
You do not have active acne or other skin diseases in the area to be treated

The Scar Revision Procedure

Surgical scar revision techniques are usually performed with local anesthesia and sedation or with general anesthesia. Excision techniques are commonly used for scar revision. Another technique, often referred to as Z-plasty, repositions the existing scar so that it is hidden in a less conspicuous area, typically within a natural skin crease.

The Scar Revision Recovery
The recovery after surgical scar revision may involve some minor swelling and bruising. Patients may also experience some discomfort which can be alleviated with medication. Bandages may be applied after surgery and these usually remain in place for one week. The scar will likely appear red immediately after surgery but it will eventually fade to a fine line. Most patients find that they can return to work within one to two weeks.

Treating Scarring from Ingrown Hairs

Posted on 05/21/2012 by Michael James

How To Avoid Scarring from Ingrown Hairs

In grown hairs can leave scarring. This scarring for some people can become troublesome and become more severe overtime. Areas frequently shaved are more susceptible to ingrown hair though they can occur any place where hair grows on the body. Place where hair has been shaved and there is friction from skin rubbing or at times clothes can be more vulnerable to the nuisance and at worse scarring from ingrown hairs.

Shaving, waxing, tweezing, electrolysis, and other hair removal methods can often irritate the hair follicle to the point of causing pain, heat, redness, swelling and eruption like skin reactions. These reactions appear as irritating red bumps which at the very least are an embarrassing sight if not a stinging reminder lasting many hours or days. Coarse, curly or wiry hair has a greater tendency to become ingrown because of the curl pattern.

Men often experience ingrown hairs on the face, back, chest, legs and arms. Women tend to get ingrown hairs on the bikini area, legs and armpits. At times the epidermis surrounding the ingrown hair can become swollen and form puss as part of the bodies healing process. People often pick or squeeze ingrown hairs, this activity repeated over time may damage the skin permanently. Scars from ingrown hairs are common. There are a number of good grooming practices that can reduce the appearance of ingrown hair scars and mitigate the reoccurrence and further scarring.

Grooming Preventions for In Grown Hairs

1. Exfoliate the area, Exfoliation removes dead skin cells and nurtures new skin cell production. Less damaged skin cells will be more apparent sooner when you exfoliate regularly. Over a period of months scars often lessen and in some cases become unapparent to the naked eye.

2. Wear sunscreen on the scarred area. Wear sunscreen period. Let’s not worry about environmental controversy and the ozone layers. Many cosmetic companies produce good skin moisturizers with sunscreen so that’s a two for one. The sun can often worsen the appearance of ingrown hair scars. The higher SPF rating is preferable to prevent further damage from harmful sun rays.

3. Cocoa butter has been shown to fade scars and encourage healthy skin. You could find a moisturizer with cocoa butter and sunscreen on the open market.

Professional Medical Treatment

1. See a dermatologist. Some may recommend apply a bleaching cream to the scars. Ingrown hair scars usually have darker pigmentation than surrounding skin. A bleaching cream will lighten the scars, helping them to blend in with the rest of your skin. You’ll need to apply most over-the-counter bleaching creams need to be applied twice a day for several weeks before you see results.

2. A dermatologist may recommend getting laser treatment on the ingrown hair scars. Laser light will target the hyperpigmentation in the scars, thereby lightening the area. Laser treatments also advance collagen production so your skin will look healthier. This is a more costly alternative that generally requires multiple sessions to achieve satisfactory results.

3. Another alternative a dermatologist can suggest is a chemical peels to lighten the ingrown hair scars. Depending on the severity of the scars, you can opt for light, medium or deep chemical peels. Your skin will be burned by the chemicals, but after it heals, younger skin will be revealed. If you opt for a series of peels, you’ll generally have better results.

4. Consider microdermabrasion on the scarred area. The top layers of your skin will be buffed away by a mini sandblaster-type device. The skin below will be younger and less damaged so the scars will not be as apparent.

SCAR FAQs

Posted on 05/13/2012 by Michael James

Important Questions Regarding Scarring

What causes scars?

Scars are a permanent mark that indicates the skin’s attempt to heal itself. When the skin is damaged the top layer occurs, cells to quickly multiply to form new cells to fill in the gap. When the wound is deeper into the underlying skin tissue, the cells that form collagen are stimulated and they fill in the gap by producing abundant fibrous connective tissue. If the density of this new tissue is relatively extensive it is usually replaced by normal skin layer over time. A result of a persistent scar remains, when the mass of new tissue is relatively extensive it is associated to cell damage and the fibrous tissue remains.

Why do scars have different colors?

New scars would always turn out to be red or purple in color as a result of damaged blood vessels and inflammation. These are hyperpigmented scars. Older scars are white in color. Resulting from the inflammation and damage to the blood vessels and cells loss of pigment-producing, cells occur. The scar becomes hypopigmented (pale), because of the loss of skin pigment. The skin has a great capacity to regenerate itself. The scars are a sign of the skin attempting to heal itself. Normally when the skin is quickly repaired, the new skin may have a different appearance. This persistent in the formation of the scars that don’t fade away.

How long does it normally take for scars to fade to their final color?

Generally, major scars from either surgery or injury take about six to twelve months to fade to their final color.

Do some people have a predisposition to develop more prominent scars?

It believed that genetic factors play a role in the scarring process. Scarring may be more disfiguring for some people. There has been new treatment developed that can help scars fade away.

Healing of Surgical Scars

Posted on 05/13/2012 by Michael James

AFTER-SURGERY SCARS

An open surgery is when they form an incision through the skin to reach the organs that are going to be operated, at the site of the incision you are left with a scar. The scar may be small or prominent. There are no current ways to completely remove a surgical scar, but there are many methods to reduce it appearance. Left: Photo Credit Laparoscopic Surgery Image by Grzegorz Kwolek from Fotolia.com

Most scars have an extremely unsightly appearance at first, usually red and thick, according to the American of Dermatology. However, these scars turn out to fade with time. During 6 to 18 months, a surgical scar typically fades into a thin white line. For the young ones, tend to have more problems with oversized scars than older people, for the reason that the young skin may attempt to over-heal the area, resulting in larger scar.

TYPES

Some scars develop abnormally after surgery, but the normal surgical scars follow the standard pattern of shifting from red and thick to thin and white. The American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery quote, “keloid scars develop when the scar material outgrows it original boundaries, creating a thick, dark, raised area around the scar. Hypertrophic scars are similar to keloids but remain within the boundaries of the original incision, creating a thick, raised line instead of flat, white surface that would result from a normal scarring pattern.”

COMPLICATIONS

Complications may arise with a surgical scar, even years after the original surgery. According to the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, an incisional hernia is one problem. Incisional hernia is when a part of the intestines or other abdominal organ protrudes through the internal portion of a surgical scar in the abdomen. Gaining weight, pregnancy or other conditions that cause and abdominal scar to stretch out and become thinner may lead to an incisional hernia.

REVISION

A revision is the process of making a scar look better or less noticeable. Many methods exist to be able to have this revision performed. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, plastic surgery is one option, another having your skin rejoined in more aesthetically pleasing fashion, and sometimes many scars can successfully be removed. Other treatments for treating post-surgery scars include dermabrasion, laser resurfacing, skin grafting and injectable fillers.

ALTERNATIVES

There are alternatives to getting a scar in the first place, or ways to limit the degree of scarring. Laproscopic surgery uses miniature cameras and tools that are threaded into the body through a small incision, allowing the surgeon to create only a few cuts for surgeries that would have required large incision years ago. The Cleveland Clinic article: “The Forefront of Surgery, Without Scars,” mentions a type of surgery called single-port surgery. The tools go through a single, tiny incision that may be placed in a location as the belly points of entry, such as the mouth.

Rejuveness – A Method for Changing the Appearance Scars

Posted on 05/11/2012 by Michael James

Changing the Appearance Scars

Is there any way to change the appearance of scars or make them fade away?

The leader in treatment options that truly affect the appearance of scars is rejuveness. With our scar treatment we try to completely make the scars imperceptible or reduce the appearance of scars to a minimum.

Silicone Occlusive Sheeting

Rejuveness is silicone occlusive sheeting that is durable, reusable and soft. This pure silicone sheeting is a medical-grade; it’s manufactured in the USA by expert technical supervision. The Rejuveness is a non-invasive medical device that reduces hypertrophic and keloid scars resulting from surgical procedures, burns, and traumatic events.

Rejuveness smooth’s, softens, and flattens scars to restore them to a more normal color and texture. When the Rejuveness is used daily as directed, it has the potential to dramatically improve the appearance of the new and old scars. It has been clinically proven that the Rejuveness is effective in the management of hypertrophic and keloid scars and relieves the burning and itching that are characteristics of scarring disorders. It has also been shown to be a success in the prevention of hypertrophic and keloid scar when applied following surgical procedures.

The mechanism of action by which the product works involves the product’s high affinity for static electricity. Between the Rejuveness sheet and the surface area of the skin where the product is applied, an electrostatic field forms. The electrostatic pull over a prolonged period of time may be the critical factor in the successful reduction of hypertrophic and keloid scars and prevention of scarring disorders.

This submission is particularly to expand the indication for Rejuveness and further define instances in which Rejuveness may be used. We also propose to illustrate examples of surgeries where Rejuveness may have application, reference to surgical procedures. We also illustrate the point that Rejuveness has shown efficacy in the prevention of scarring disorders when applied following particular procedures. These singular surgeries are sited in attachment #7 pricing sheet examples and are outlined in the indications.

Prevention of Facial Acne Scar

Posted on 05/04/2012 by Michael James

Acne scar is one of the most common type of facial scars that can affect both men and women in their teens to adulthood. Acne scars could be prevented if acne can be diagnosed properly and treated efficiently.

Acne does not leave scar in everyone, but if acne is not properly treated it may lead to disfiguring scars. Acne scar can be an emotionally challenging problem for many young men and women so early diagnosis and treatment of them are recommended.

As many other medical conditions prevention is almost more important and less costly that treatment. The ideal solution for prevention of acne scar is to prevent acne active lesions from occurring. Medical treatment of acne can be challenging, but there are more medications and tools to prevent the active lesions or even if they occur to minimize their aggression.

The best is to find a good physician who is treating acne on a regular basis. Be patients since the treatment of acne may not happen over night and at times several treatment periods are needed. Your doctor need to see you periodically and he or she may have to change the medications you are on regularly.