RAPID CITY, S.D. – From burns to injury to surgery, the skin can be altered by the appearance of scarring. Scars are part of the body’s healing process; it is the skin’s way of repairing itself. They occur when the deep layer of the skin known as the dermis is damaged. The body responds by forming new collagen fibers to mend the damage. Many scars are flat and have a different texture than the surrounding skin, but sometimes the body produces too much collagen, causing the scar to be raised. These raised scars can be hypertrophic or keloid scars.
Both types of scars can range from red to darker hues than the surrounding skin. A hypertrophic scar will not extend past the area of the injury while a keloid scar will outgrow the area of damage and extend further on the skin.
Scars can be itchy and painful, even if they are older. Itchiness from older scars happens because the skin has been stretched tight; tight skin is often itchier. Pain can happen when the scar grows internally to squeeze nearby nerves.
More than the physical, scars that occur from traumatic accidents or surgeries can carry an emotional burden. Depression, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorders have all been linked to the appearance of scarring.
Nic Yost, CNP, Fnp-Bc, owner and operator of BeautyMed, explains that many treatments to reduce the appearance of scaring work by stimulating new cell growth that brings back collagen and elastin to the affected area and creates new, healthy skin.
There are multiple treatments that can reduce scar appearance. “I have two different kinds of scar treatments; one is the laser treatment and one is PRP (Platelet-Rich Plasma). The PRP can be micro needled or injected and the laser is topical. The PRP and the micro needle can only be done on hypertrophic scars. The laser, on the other hand, can treat both hypertrophic and keloid,” said Yost
During PRP, a vial of the patient’s blood is drawn. The platelets are isolated using a centrifuge, which spins the blood to separate the red blood cells from the PRP. The PRP is then injected back into the skin, this causes the body to naturally begin the healing process, reducing the appearance of scarring, and promoting the growth of new collagen and elastin.
The laser treatment Yost offers penetrates the skin deep enough to stimulate the healing process on a cellular level. This process allows new skin to grow and replace scar tissue. The added elastin and collagen reduce tightness, alleviating pain and itchiness.
The type of scar removal treatment that will work best varies from person to person, which is why Yost suggests her patients come in for a free consultation so she can help them find the most effective solution. For more information on BeautyMed and the full list of services Yost provides, go to MyBeautyMed.com