Laser Scar Treatment Toronto

A scar is a disfiguring mark left on the skin by the healing of injured tissue. Scars may develop from infections, surgeries, injuries, or diseases. They usually form within the first couple of months after surgery or trauma, and can appear on any part of the body. The look and severity of scarring depends on many factors, including the size, direction and depth of the wound, the blood supply to the area, and the thickness and color of the patient's skin, etc.

Scars affect approximately 4.5% to 16% of the general population, and are especially common in individuals between the ages of 10 and 30. In addition to low self-esteem, patients may experience limited mobility, itch, or pain.

Types of Scars

To general people, common types of scars include: acne scar, surgical scar, burn scar, injury scar, keloid scar, etc. Proper scar differentiation is critical to ensure that the most effective treatment is chosen. The following are the main categories of scars based on clinical appearance:

• Hypertrophic Scars
- Thick, firm, pink, raised and occur within the edges of a wound and may regress and flatten over time.
• Keloid Scars
- Look like hypertrophic scars, but extend beyond the wound margins and usually build over time.
• Atrophic Scars
- Depressed pin-like pockets in the skin that can result from skin conditions or diseases such as acne and chicken pox. Acne scar is the most common atrophic scar.
• Contracture scars
- Tightened texture, usually caused by burn, may go deeper to affect muscles and nerves, and may potentially impair the patient’s ability to move.
• Striae (stretch marks)
- Red or purple linear bands of wrinkled skin, caused by rapid weight loss or weight gain. But older striae are usually lighter in color and more fibrotic.

Scar Treatments and Laser Scar Removal

While no scar can be removed completely, the appearance of a scar can be improved or made less obvious through many procedures like injection, microdermabrasion, certain medications or through surgical revisions.

Introduced in the 1980s, the laser scar procedure is now one of the most effective scar treatments. Early laser scar treatments were often performed with the Nd:YAG laser or the CO2 ablative laser, which were usually associated with transient or only modest results, high rate of scar recurrence, extended downtime, and undesirable side effects. Now a new technology, fractional laser resurfacing, has become the new gold-standard for laser scar treatment.

At Q Esthetics Laser Clinic, we use the Palomar Starlux 500 fractional handpiece Lux1540 in conjunction with other techniques to treat a wide variety of scars.

Frequently Asked Questions

How fractional laser scar treatment works?

Successful scar treatment requires deep energy penetration through the epidermis and into the reticular dermis to activate a dramatic healing response. By creating micro-columns of coagulated tissue that extend through the epidermis into the dermis, the Lux1540 triggers a wound healing response that removes the coagulated tissue and replaces it with healthy tissue. The intact tissue surrounding each microscopic wound will allow for quick re-epithelialization of the treated scarring tissue. Because the 1540 nm wavelength is selectively absorbed by water in the tissue, it is safe for all skin types. The proximity of healthy tissue to the micro-column boundaries enables the migration of normal melanocytes which contributes to rapid pigment re-normalization.

What are the results I can achieve?

Recent study demonstrated that the Lux1540 had successfully treated a broad range of scars(burn scars, avulsion-like trauma scars, dog bites, post-surgical scars, tattoo-removal scars) as well as scars with varying degrees of dys-pigmentation (hypo-pigmentation to hyper-pigmentation) on a variety of skin types. In certain type of scars, the Lux1540 fractional non-ablative laser had produced clinical improvement of 75%.

The texture, pliability and symptoms of scars can improve significantly after a few treatments. Results are long-lasting and recurrences are rare. Scars that are immature will respond best to the laser treatments.

What are the Side Effects?

In contrast to side effects following traditional full-surface ablative therapies which may include oozing, crusting, infection, and hyper-pigmentation, patients treated with the Lux1540 experience less pain and only transient swelling and/or redness lasting just a few days.

Before	After

Click here to see more scar treatment results.

Q Esthetics is one of the earlist clinics to use the fractional laser in scar treatments, so we have the greatest number of satisfied scar patients in the Greater Toronto Area. If you need more information or want to schedule appointment for a free consultation, please click here to contact us.

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