Scars

Scars can cause significant emotional and psychological impact on many people, may even cause problems with interpersonal relationships and also professionally for some people. Fortunately these days, there are a number of treatments available to be able to significantly improve most scars.

To understand scar treatments, it’s important to understand different types of scars as this, alongside the patient’s skin type and downtime available will often dictate the treatments used.

When scars tether to the underlying tissue, they can be very difficult scars to treat. For most of these scars, a technique called subcision is utilised whereby under local anaesthetic blocks, these tethers are physically released by a special needle or a cannula. This also forms a framework for the collagen, elastin and extracellular matrix and these push the scarred area up.

This is often followed up with a CO2 laser which is the gold standard for scar treatment. The Lumenis UltraPulse CO2 on a fully ablative and fractional mode, treats scars both superficially and deeply, getting maximum impact and blending them with the surrounding skin. The CO2 treatment does have some downtime, usually about a week, but the results are well worth the downtime.

For those who don’t have as much downtime, we use the RadioFrequency needling device. Tiny gold plated pins penetrate the skin down to 3.5mm, releasing radio frequency waves that then break the scar tissue down. RF needling only requires a downtime of 24-72 hours, but may require more treatment sessions to reach the ideal outcome.

An alternative option is the fraxel laser, which can also provide improvements with low downtime.

There are also hypertrophic and keloid scars, which are thick, stubborn scars. These can be very challenging to treat. These are often treated with a combination of vascular and fractional laser, as well as injection of steroid and scar softening agents. Scars that are very wide or deep may need surgical excision before laser treatment.

Scar treatments are often quite challenging, but for Brisbane Skin, it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of our work and really is a passion. Although it can have significant emotional impacts, please know that for most patients, we can provide significant improvements by combining cutting edge combination therapies, medications, surgery and laser.

Traumatic scarring results from a significant, and often sudden, injury to the skin. The sources of the injury can include thermal burns, chemical burns, sharp objects that penetrate the skin and friction or scraping.

Due to the nature of the injury, traumatic scars can occur in visible areas and often are repaired without immediate priority given to the longer-term aesthetics. In traumatic scarring cases, we see a range of conditions from patients with subtle visible scarring to severe skin distortions that can restrict movement.

We see many patients where traumatic scarring has affected them physically, socially and psychologically, and work with them closely to produce real results and improve their outlook going forward.

Atrophic scars appear indented and are thinner than the surrounding skin. These scars are often treated using ablative and fractionated laser treatment.

Hypertrophic scars are raised scars that arise due to excessive tissue growth. Hypertrophic tissue can also experience tightening (contractures) which can prevent normal movement.

Keloid scarring results in a raised scar that tends to overgrow the boundaries of the initial wound as a result of excessive tissue growth.

Burn scars can arise from traumatic situations, and Brisbane Skin sees many patients whose scarring has a real impact on their daily life and self-esteem. Burn scars can be as a result of chemicals, sun exposure, radiation, heat or electricity. The harshness of the irritant and the length of time it’s in contact with the skin will determine the size and severity of the scar. Acute burn care, administered immediately after the event, also determines the way the scar will develop.

We often see burn scars with contractures, where the skin has tightened and can prevent normal movement. We take pride in creating personalised treatment plans with our patients, and in treating burns with the Lumenis CO2 laser which provides outstanding scar revision for burns patients.

CO2 laser resurfacing is one of our subspecialties. There are only a few people in the country that provide this treatment at the level that you can receive with Brisbane Skin.

More about CO2 & Erbium lasers

Vascular lasers selectively target and damage unwanted or abnormal blood vessels and are used by dermatologists to treat broken capillaries, persistent facial redness, rosacea, burns, scars and vascular (red or purple) birth marks.

More about vascular laser

As the most advanced radio frequency skin needling technology on the market, Endymed works by emitting heat into the dermis, triggering the skin’s natural healing process, and rejuvenating the look and feel of skin.

More about EndyMed® Intensif RadioFrequency

At Brisbane Skin, our goal is to protect our patients against the damaging effects of the sun. There are a wide range of treatments available to treat sun damage, sunspots and skin cancer.

More about Skin Cancer