Scar & Stretchmark Repair
Allow our staff to assist you in obtaining your skin’s natural appearance by diminishing scars & stretch marks.
They are the result of your skin's collagen and elastin fibers breaking down under trauma and stress. Leading causes of stretchmarks are pregnancy, body building and weight loss. Scars can over “heal” to form keloids. In the beginning, scars and stretch marks appear red and eventually turn white as part of the healing process.
In the past, cryosurgery (freezing), excision, steroid injections and the use of topical creams and ointments were the standard of care for the treatment of scars and stretch marks. The results of these treatments range from fair to minimal, with recurrences commonly seen after many of these treatment options.
Laser Technology
Lasers offer a successful approach for reducing the appearance of scars and stretch marks. This gentle approach uses targeted flashes of light to the skin under the scars and stretch marks to stimulate the production of collagen. This softens the firm and red scars improving its appearance naturally. Similarly, the skin under the stretch marks thickens until it closely resembles the surrounding normal skin.
Do laser treatments hurt?
Most patients do not require anesthetic. Some patients have indicated that they feel a slight tingling when the laser pulses, or that the laser pulse feels like the snap of a rubber band against the skin.
What should you expect after treatment?
Results vary from patient to patient and may not be immediate. Results from laser stretch mark treatment are generally progressive and may require multiple treatments. If you respond to the first treatment, your second treatment will usually be as good as the first, and the third treatment will be almost as good. About 70% of patients receiving laser treatments for their stretch marks notice a marked improvement. Newer and shallower stretch marks respond better than older and deeper stretch marks.
Do laser treatments work?
Recent studies have demonstrated that pulsed light laser treatments stimulate the production of collagen and improve or eliminate the appearance of stretch marks.
Additional studies show that the appearance of stretch marks continues to improve over a period of time ranging from 3 to 6 months after the laser treatment was given. Even those treatments that showed little if any initial improvement showed as much as a 50% improvement at their 6 month checkup.
Does the treatment cause discoloration?
The skin in the immediate treatment area may be red for up to two weeks, but it does not usually cause any discoloration or other markings on the skin. The low power setting of the laser only stimulates the skin and does not harm any healthy tissue.
|