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.

Any injury does not become a scar until the wound has completely healed; this can take many months. To begin to patch the defect a provisional clot is created; this first layer is not scar. At the site of the injury, over time the wounded body tissue will then over expresses collagen. This collagen over expression cross-links the fiber arrangement inside the collagen. This densely-packed collagen, morphing into an inelastic whitish collagen^[3] scar wall, blocks off regeneration and, as a result, the new tissue that is generated will have a different texture and quality than the surrounding non-wounded tissue. This prolonged collagen-producing process results in a fortuna scar.

The scarring is created by fibroblast proliferation,^[3] which reacts to the clot.^[4]

To mend the damage, scars are slowly formed. The scars are formed by prolonged inflammation, excessive overproliferation of fibroblasts^[3] (the proliferation is circular^[5]) and collagen production. Cyclically, the fibroblast proliferation lays down thick whitish collagen^[3] inside the matrix, resulting in the abundant production of collagen on the fibers^[3][4][6] giving scars their uneven texture. Over time, the fibroblasts continue to crawl around the matrix, adjusting more fibers and, in the process, the settling scarring becomes more stiff.^[7] This fibroblast proliferation also contracts the tissue.^[5][8] In non-wounded tissue, these fibers are not over expressed with thick collagen and do not contract.

Redness that often follows an injury to the skin is not a scar, and is generally not permanent (see wound healing). The time it takes for this redness to dissipate may, however, range from a few days to, in some serious and rare cases, a few years.^{[citation needed]}

Scars form differently based on the location of the injury on the body and the age of the person who was injured.^{[citation needed]}

The worse the initial damage is, the worse the scar will generally be.^{[citation needed]}

Skin Scars: Skin scars occur when the dermis (the deep, thick layer of skin) is damaged. Most skin scars are flat and leave a trace of the original injury that caused them.^{[citation needed]}

Stable forms of topical vitamin C have been shown to improve collagen formation.^[9]

Recent research has also implicated the gene product osteopontin in scarring and The University of Bristol have developed a gel that inhibits the process.^[10][11]

Transforming Growth Factors (TGF) play a critical role in scar development and current research is investigating the manipulation of these TGFs for drug development to prevent scarring from the emergency adult wound-healing process. As well, a recent American study implicated the protein Ribosomal s6 kinase (RSK) in the formation of scar tissue and found that the introduction of a chemical to counteract RSK could halt the formation of Cirrhosis. This treatment also has the potential to reduce or even prevent altogether other types of scarring.^[12]

Scars (also called cicatrices) are areas of fibrous tissue (fibrosis) that replace normal skin (or other tissue) after injury or disease. A scar results from the biologic process of wound repair in the skin and other tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a natural part of the healing process. With the exception of very minor lesions, every wound (e.g. after accident, disease, or surgery) results in some degree of scarring. An exception to this is animals with regeneration, which do not form scars and the tissue will grow back exactly as before.

Scar tissue is composed of the same protein (collagen) as the tissue that it replaces,^[1] but instead of a random basketweave formation of the collagen fibers found in normal tissue,^[1] the collagen cross-links and forms a pronounced alignment in a single direction.^[1] This collagen scar tissue alignment is usually of inferior functional quality to the normal collagen randomised alignment. For example, scars in the skin are less resistant to ultraviolet radiation, and sweat glands and hair follicles do not grow back within scar tissue. A myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, causes scar formation in the heart muscle, which leads to loss of muscular power and possibly heart failure. However, there are some tissues (e.g. bone) that can heal without any structural or functional deterioration.

The word scar was derived from the Greek word schara, meaning place of fire (fireplace).^[2]