In plastic surgery, scars are the most common condition consulted in outpatient clinics.
The life of a person is not smooth, there will be a variety of difficulties we need to overcome, if sick may need surgery, accidental burns will also leave scars, every day there will be a large number of scar plagued by beauty seekers, looking at their eager eyes and unrealistic expectations, more and more want to write more realistic and objective science, not exaggerate, not to escape. The director of Beijing Armed Forces Hospital Wei Bin tells you several truths about scars.
Scars are one of the natural enemies of beauty. Whether it is a knife cut, surgery or a serious burn, all of them will leave scars of different degrees.
Scar is a big international problem, often heard patients say where there is a scar package, where the scars can go without trace and so on, this is the entire medical industry’s fantasy now, countless failed results will be this fantasy back to reality, as far as the current medical technology, scars can only be lightened, can not be eliminated.
1.What is a scar in the end?
To recognize scars, we must first recognize the skin. This seemingly simple structure is composed of epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue, and contains accessory organs (sweat glands, sebaceous glands, nails, toenails) as well as blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, nerves and muscles.
When the injury only destroys the epidermis or superficial dermis, the wound will heal quickly; when the injury reaches the deep dermis and even deeper, it is necessary to fill the damaged area by producing granulation tissue – these granulation tissues will eventually turn into ugly scars. Scars are the inevitable result of post-trauma repair. Any surgery is also an injury, but of course surgery is not about removing scars, it is about surgically fading, reducing scars or changing the shape of scars.
2.What are the types of scars?
Medically, scars are classified according to their proliferation.
Ordinary scars: they are generally slightly lighter in color than normal skin, softer in texture, and some will appear wrinkled or depressed.
Atrophic scars: They are the most unstable scar tissue, also called unstable scars, with thin epidermis, flat surface, poor local blood circulation, bright white color and hard base. It is easy to form ulcers, which are generally difficult to heal and can lead to malignant changes over time. It is very destructive, so attention should be paid to prevention, early implantation, and not to let it heal by itself.
Proliferative scars: They are obviously red, prominent and tender, and most patients also feel painful and itchy.
Most of them require active treatment.
Scarred scars: Obviously prominent, often spherical, reddish or similar in color to normal skin, very pliable in texture, may be accompanied by obvious pain, itching, and most stubborn.
3.The eighteen weapons to deal with scars
1.Anti-scar medication: Generally in the first 3-6 months of scar formation, it is very effective for unstable scars and proliferative scars and causes the least damage to patients, but it has almost no effect on old scars.
2.Anti-scar patch and pressure therapy: It is more effective for obviously raised hyperplastic scars, and together with customized elastic sleeve to apply pressure on scars, it can effectively limit the development of hyperplastic scars and sufficiently soften the scars to create conditions for later surgical treatment.
3.Scar injection: Scar creams and patches are not effective, so scar injection is needed. However, this way is more suitable for scars with small area, the dose cannot be too large, and the process of injection is more painful.
4.Surgical excision: old scars with poor appearance can be removed and cosmetically re-stitched. During the formation of new scars, the doctor can intervene by various means to make them as inconspicuous as possible.
5.Surgical-local injection combination therapy: When hyperplastic scars and scars are too large, the edges of the scars need to be preserved and partially excised before scar injections are given.
6.Surgical radiation-local injection combination therapy: This type of plan is commonly used for scars with very obvious results.
7.Surgical reshaping or implantation: Any kind of scars may have contracture, restrict joint movement or even distort the five senses. This is when surgery is needed to reshape it reasonably. Sometimes it will cost a slight extension of the scar length, but the reset will improve the overall aesthetics.
8.Fat injection: Initially, some doctors took autologous fat filling in order to fill the depressed scars, but unexpectedly found that the quality of the scars was improved.
9.Full face preconstruction and reconstruction: Through expander technology, stem cell technology and free blood vessels and flap grafting technology, a human face is reconstructed from the patient’s anterior chest skin and transplanted to the severely disfigured face. This is the first technology in China and is called “Chinese style face replacement”.
4.How can I reduce the impact of scars?
From the moment of injury, the body’s repair mechanism is already activated. At this time, accelerating the healing of the trauma itself can limit the scarring.
The following points, which you can receive good results with a little attention: Thoroughly clean the wound and suture: clean, non-infected wounds heal faster and without inflammatory stimulation, scars generally do not grow like crazy. In the case of abrasions, never pick off the blood scab after rinsing the wound sufficiently, it is best to let it “ripen” as constant stimulation of the wound will make the scar very obvious.
Avoid spicy smoking and alcohol: Although there is no strong clinical evidence yet, long-term observation still reveals that eating spicy food, smoking and drinking alcohol will promote scar growth. However, the folklore rumor that consuming soy sauce will deepen the color of scars is pure nonsense. Reduce activity: Very often, trauma occurs in the joint area. Frequent movement of the skin around the joints can significantly stimulate scar growth, so it is best to reduce the activity. So here’s the question.
Some people may ask what should I do if I have an injury around my mouth? The answer is to talk less and eat smaller bites. Early application of silicone preparations: You can touch water 24 hours after the wound is removed. Be careful to keep the scar clean and scrub it gently. Applying silicone gel can accelerate the maturation of scars and avoid scar proliferation. Paying attention to the above can even avoid some scar revision surgeries, and even if surgery is still required, it can greatly reduce the difficulty, trauma and improve the post-operative results. On the way to fight the disease, please don’t let your doctor fight alone, always trust your doctor and cooperate with him.
5.What kind of scars should be treated by surgery as early as possible?
Often people just have wound stitches and rush to plastic surgery for surgery consultation the next day. Once the wound is stitched up, it is not advisable to operate again within three months. If you rashly operate again, it is equal to aggravate the inflammatory response of the local tissues, which is just like pushing the scar. At this time you need to be patient and wait for the scar to stabilize, actively cooperate with the doctor’s treatment, take medication on time, avoid mouth and reduce activities. However, there are some cases that need to be treated surgically as soon as possible even if the scar is still very red and swollen. For example, some hyperplastic scars and scars that affect the position of the five senses or cause joint stiffness because of contracture need to be operated immediately, otherwise they will lead to joint stiffness or crookedness of the five senses, which cannot be recovered even if the scars are softened. Humans still know very little about many diseases, and scarring is one of them. But the completion of the Human Genome Project has taken the first step in a long journey to accelerate the search for the mysteries of life. It is believed that the mystery of scars will also be unveiled in the near future.