For those with facial scars, it may seem like there are no choices but to live with the disfigurement. While many choose to embrace their flaws, others seek out ways to cover up or reduce the severity of their scars, if not have them removed altogether. There are a number of options available for those seeking scar treatments. Grand Rapids specialists can offer both surgical and non-surgical options.
Surgical Options
Cosmetic surgery is possible for some people suffering from facial scarring or disfigurement. Options include skin grafts, excision, dermabrasion or laser surgery.
* During skin grafts, surgeons take skin from an unaffected area of the body and graft it to the scarred region. This is commonly used for burn victims.
* Excision is simple removal.
* Dermabrasion is a process where the surgeon uses an abrading tool to remove the upper layers of skin, making the marks smaller and smoother.
* During laser surgery, the surgeon uses the laser to send short, concentrated, pulsating beams of light to the area being treated. This removes the dead, unwanted skin one layer at a time.
Although, these are very effective they can be costly and in most cases, health insurance will not cover these treatments, even if the scar is due to an injury. If these are not in the budget, there are a number of different non-surgical options.
Non-Surgical Options
The number of non-surgical options has grown in recent years, specifically in the area of scar treatment. Pharmaceutical packaging companies have made advances in how injectable medicines are packaged. There are a number of new “fillers” that help to alleviate facial scarring. There are injectable gels and proteins. Each works in a slightly different way, and for a different length of time. The depth and nature of the scar help to determine which would work the best.
In addition to chemical injections, are microdermabrasion, chemical peels and laser skin rejuvenation.
* Microdermabrasion – A small sanding instrument is used to remove the outer layer of skin. It is minimally invasive, and most people return to work immediately following the treatment.
* Chemical peels – A chemical solution is applied to remove the damaged outer layers of skin. The recovery time can be a few days depending on the nature of the patient’s skin and how the skin reacts to the chemicals.
* Laser skin rejuvenation – The laser penetrates the deeper layers of the dermis in order to remove the damaged outer layers.
Skin Solutions is one of the premier skin revitalization facilities in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We provide aesthetic solutions to the issues associated with scarred skin. Please visit our website at.
