How our skin specialists can help with improving the appearance of scars
Our dermatologists know that successful scar treatment requires a significant amount of expertise and skill combined with the ability to offer you a wide range of treatment options.
A careful assessment of the type of scar you have, its colour, how it developed and how long it has been there is critical. This will then determine what treatment options are right for you.
Importantly, we can determine what sort of outcome you might be able to expect from any intervention as scars can vary in their response to treatment.
What are scars?
Scars in the skin can develop for a number of reasons:
- Accidental injury and burns
- Surgery
- Acne
Scar formation after a wound is a normal process whereby the body tries to repair damage by laying down new collagen.
Sometimes this process develops in an abnormal way leading to thickened hard and irritable red scars (keloid) or depressed and indented scars.
What types of scars are treatable?
Most types of scarring can be improved by blending them with the surrounding skin and make them less noticeable.
Treatments can be performed on new and old scars but treating scars early in their development is often preferable and more successful when trying to remodel the new collagen as it is forming.
The hardest scars to treat are those which are white as there are fewer options to bring the normal pigmentation back into the skin.
Unfortunately, keloid scars are particularly prone to recur even after apparently successful treatment.
We offer a number of treatment options depending on the type of scarring
These include:
- Silicon based creams and sheets
- Superficial skin peels for acne scarring
- Intralesional corticosteroid microinjections
- Subcision to raise depressed scars
- Punch excision and punch elevation
- TCA CROSS technique for ice pick acne scars
- Dermal fillers
- V beam laser for milder acne and red scars
- Radiofrequency microneedling for acne scarring
- Fractional CO2 laser resurfacing
- Scar revision surgery
On what parts of the body can scars be corrected?
Depending on the types of scar most areas can be treated. The type of treatment we use may vary depending on body site. Our dermatologists will be able to give you a clear explanation of what your safest most effective options are at your consultation.
How many scar revision treatments will I need?
Treating scars requires patience and persistence. All types of scars generally need multiple treatments over time. We can give you an estimate of your needs at your consultation.