Scar Treatment

What should you know about facial scar treatment? What happens during the first consultation?

Surgical procedures, operations, home accidents, sports activities, or traffic accidents often cause wounds such as lacerations, bruises, bites, and burn marks. When the skin is in the process of recovering from these injuries, scarring occurs. Depending on the affected area and the depth of the injury, wounds heal differently.

Facial scar treatment makes scars almost invisible or produces a significant aesthetic improvement. Our Institute offers several types of clinically proven surgical and non-surgical procedures, for instance surgical scar revision and non-surgical Dermafix micro needling, also known as collagen induction therapy. Dermafix treatment can improve both raised and indented (atrophic) scars. This therapy is also an excellent treatment option to tighten enlarged pores, to rejuvenate area around the eyes and all areas of the face, neck, and décolletage, and to smooth stretch marks.

During the first consultation the plastic surgeon examines your scars and assesses their current condition. The dermatologist gives you a personalized medical recommendation about the necessary procedures and informs you about the various possibilities and the expected results. Then the two of you together choose the treatment that is most suitable for you: surgical scar revision or scar treatment with Dermafix.

Preparing for surgical facial scar treatment and scar revision

Before surgical scar treatment or scar revision, in certain cases you must go for a complete medical check-up. The reason for this is to find out whether you have any health problems that could influence the outcome of the scar treatment or scar revision. Whether you need the complete check-up depends on the size of the scar as well as on the type of anaesthesia used (local, regional, or general anaesthesia). All preliminary examinations are made at our Plastic Surgery Institute, so you do not need to queue up and wait in other health centres. In the course of the medical check-up we perform laboratory tests and as occasion requires, other examinations as well (ECG, X-ray, ultrasound, etc.), according to the specialist's suggestion.

In certain cases we advise our patients to change their lifestyle in the days preceding scar treatmentor scar revision. To facilitate proper recovery, it is important that you do not smoke because nicotine slows down the process of regeneration and has a harmful influence on the healing of the wound. In the days before the scar treatment or scar revision you should eat light foods, drink lots of fluids, and take some vitamins (vitamin C, selenium, zinc). Two weeks before facial scar treatment or scar revision you should avoid the use of aspirin, ginko biloba, and other naturopathic products.

Surgical scar revision, scar treatment with Dermafix

During surgical scar revision the plastic surgeon cuts out the previous scar and re-unifies its edges. The plastic surgery takes place in our well-equipped operating room. Surgical scar revision is performed under local or general anaesthesia.

During dermafix therapy the dermatologist cleans the skin surface, applies a special local anaesthetic cream to numb the area to be treated, and disinfects the skin. The specialized device contains micro needles that are adjustable for depth, so the needles penetrate to a depth corresponding to the patient's skin condition and the area under treatment. The device makes microscopic openings in the skin. As a result, the skin starts up its own self-repair mechanism, promoting the production of collagen. The device is also used to maximize the penetration of active skin care products deep into the skin. At the end of the therapy the dermatologist applies a soothing mask containing polypeptides, plant stem cells and hyaluronic acid. Finally, the patient's skin is treated with Sun protecting cream.

Recovery and risks of surgical scar revision

In our Plastic Surgery Institute we aim to make facial scar correction as convenient as possible for you. After scar treatment or scar revision the plastic surgeon places sterile bandage on the wound. Depending of the type of scar correction or scar revision, the time you need to spend in hospital varies between a couple of hours and a night. In order to achieve perfect results, we work with self-absorbing stitches. These stitches produce better aesthetic results and you can also avoid the inconveniences of suture removal.

During the first two weeks of convalescence you have to avoid all strenuous physical activities. After this period you can gradually resume to your activities as usual. After three weeks you can start doing low-impact physical exercises. Until two months after the procedure, you shouldn't visit tanning salons and saunas, and you should avoid sunbathing. After scar correction or scar revision you will have to have follow-up appointments. The exact time and the frequency of these appointments will be specified by the plastic surgeon on the basis of the type of procedure you have had. The outer and inner scars heal completely in 18 months. In order to facilitate the healing process, it is advisable to use scar treatment creams. While we aim to indentify all risk factors during the pre-operative assessment, unforeseeable complications may arise. Scar correction and scar revision are routine procedures and the chance of post-op complications is minimal but cannot be completely excluded.

Dermafix treatment is a non-surgical treatment; therefore we cannot really talk about a period of convalescence in this case. In contrast to other roller treatments, Dermafix treatment allows you to return to work and resume your daily routine already the next day. As the roller causes minimal harm to the outer layer of the skin, only a moderate flush may develop, and the healing period is also faster. The treatment is painless and has no side-effects. After Dermafix treatment you should use sunblock (at least SPF 30) for two weeks.

The results of surgical scar revision and Dermafix scar treatment

In the case of surgical scar revision the new, improved appearance is visible after 3 months. However, scar tissues require up to 18 months to fully heal and achieve maximum improved appearance. While there is no way to remove scars completely, scar revision is an effective method to minimize the prominence of scars, and so make them almost invisible or achieve significant improvement.

The results of Dermafix treatment are already minimally visible right after the treatment; however, the final effect develops over weeks or months. In the days after the therapy the skin becomes fuller due to the skin care products used during the treatment. However, collagen and elastin production in the skin starts about two months after the first treatment session. The final results develop about half a year after a course of four treatments. The treatment exerts a lifting effect on the skin, minimizes enlarged pores, and improves scars.

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