A Closer Look At Latest Breakthroughs In Scar Treatment

A facial scar from a cut.
(Image courtesy of  Laura Lewis)

Scars are unwanted gifts that many of us receive from burns or physical injuries. Despised by many as grim reminders of the past, scars can disfigure one’s appearance and adversely affect his or her self-esteem. As a result, treating them can become an urgent necessity.

Regardless of the way they were sustained, scars are natural parts of our bodies’ healing process from traumas caused by burns, surgeries or disfiguring diseases. The majority of scars occur on the skin level. This is due to the skin’s 24/7 exposure to daily activities that may openly invite injuries to the sensitive organ.

Among the scars that develop on the skin are Keloid scars that take shape on the sites of surgical cuts, body piercings or vaccination. Keloid scars grow as extra tissues that extend far beyond the injury site. Depends on where they appear, keloid scars can be concealed beneath clothes or behind hair. However, those that grow on exposed parts of the body, say face, might affect one’s look thus, demands an intervention from a dermatologist.

Acne scars are another type of scars that forms on the face. Acnes themselves are results of inflamed blemishes filled with excess oil, dead skin cells and bacteria. Typically, acnes disappear after the skin repairs itself by replacing the damaged tissues with new ones. However, in some cases, the repairing process might not be perfect. For instance, acnes that are large and deep can leave noticeable pores on the skin, causing it to looking (and feel) less smooth and flawless that what it used to be.

There are no medical treatments that can completely remove scars, at least not yet. However, reducing scars to (almost) match the color, tone and texture of the skin is something that can be achieved through a variety of existing medical procedures.

Steroids injections, for instance, are used to treat keloid scars. This procedure is conducted by injecting the drug into the scar to level it down by reducing the swelling it creates. Depending on the size and severity of the scar, this procedure may need to be repeated a number of times to guarantee better results. Steroids injections, though, cannot completely hide scars, but rather make them hard to distinguish from the skin underneath.

A keloid scar appearing on the chest.
(Image courtesy of: Htirgan)

While the steroids are doing a neat job in combating keloid scars, medical experts are continuously looking for effective means to counter the abhorred acne scars. Currently, there are two treatments for this type of scars and both utilize laser technology. The older of the two is called fractional ablative laser which is the current standard. This treatment works by removing the scar tissue from the skin surface. Though effective, it takes about a month for the patient to heal, a major downside.

The other treatment for acne scars, picosecond pulse duration laser, was inspired from tattoo removal procedure. Just like the previous treatment, this one deploys laser to reduce the severity of acne scars to a satisfying level. The main advantage of this new treatment is that, unlike the ablative laser, it [doesn’t remove parts of the skin to do the trick]. Therefore, the procedure is generally less painful (requires no anesthesia) and the healing process is faster.

 A study involving 20 patients has been conducted in the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the new treatment.  Based on the results, the treatment was capable of reducing acne scarring in the participants by an average of 25 percent to 50 percent.

According to the researchers, the costs of the pulse duration laser procedure would ranges would range between $400 and $1,000 (RM 1,440 - RM 3,600) for the typical person. That’s significantly cheaper from the ablative laser that averages $1,450 (RM 5,200). However, most patients will only need one ablative laser treatment to see satisfying results, while those choosing the pulse duration laser will have to go through repeated sessions to get the same results. Thus, the overall costs of the two treatments are pretty much the same.

Numerous scar treatments alternatives, apart from those mentioned above, are being heavily examined by researchers from around the world. There are still thousands of cases of severe scarring from burns and illnesses that challenge the entire field of dermatology. Nonetheless, in the light of the rapid advancements in medical technologies, it wouldn’t be long before the fear of being permanently marked with the past becomes a past itself.


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