Scar Treatments
September 27, 2010 Uncategorized
Different scar treatments according to wikipedia
According to the authority, the American Academy of Dermatology, no scar can be completely removed[15] although in some cases healing can occur without scarring such as healing in embryos, healing without injury (regeneration), and some animals. It also depends on race. Eurasians or asians can have it completely removed and some Africans can.[16] As of 2004[update] no prescription drugs for the treatment or prevention of scars were available.[17]
Atrophic Scarring occurring after surgical procedures or trauma is a common cosmetic problem for patients. Atrophic scars, which present as topographical depressions, result when dermal collagen and connective tissue production during the physiologic wound-healing process inadequately compensate for the tissue loss present after injury. Wound tension, tissue apposition, individual variations in wound healing, and scar contraction are all factors that contribute to the creation of a depressed, atrophic scar. With varying success, numerous ablative, nonablative, and fractional devices have been used to stimulate neocollagenesis and dermal remodeling in an attempt to improve the appearance of atrophic scars.[18]
An alternative way to remove scars is to dissolve them with enzymes. According to Singh, Ratner etal and Lee, Bee Venom Therapy (BVT) is useful in diminishing scars. They explain when scars are stung they are broken down, softened and faded by substances in the venom.[19][20][21] (Bee sting image: Before and After).[22]
Semiocclusive ointments (e.g. petrolatum-based), silicone gel sheeting and steroid injections have a widely-accepted role in general scar treatment,.[23] In 1962, a paper supporting the use of a semiocclusive ointments to speed healing and reduce scarring was published, beginning a practice which is now “a cornerstone of wound care” and the beginning of the discovery of the effectiveness of occlusive methods (ointments, occlusive dressings, silicones) .[24] The effectiveness of silicone gel over nonsilicone gel was initially seen as controversial as no significant differences were noted when comparing silicone vs non silicone dressings.[24] It is now more accepted that the silicone itself is not a biologically active part of scar formation, it is the hydration silicone (and other occlusive dressings) offer. In 2002, Mustoe et al. in Vol 110. No 2 of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery offer the International Recommendations on Scar Management and state, a “primary role for silicone gel sheeting and (corticosteroid injections) for the management of a wide variety of abnormal scars”. Corticosteroid therapy by injection into the scars was also introduced in the 1960s. From the early 1970s pressure garment therapy was introduced for widespread burn scars, and silicone gel sheets from the 1980s.[25]
In 1971 Moss & Clifford, produced a patent that claimed scar free healing.[26] Their work went unnoticed and was not peer reviewed.