What Are Surgical Scars?
Scarring is always left to some extent after surgery, even laporascopic surgery. Collagen is the body’s cement to close the injury to the skin. Fortunately, most surgical scars can be made less severe and smaller in size by using Scarguard. It's natural to be a little apprehensive about scars.
But you can lessen the extent of any scars with Scarguard.
What happens when we get stitches?
A cut or a wound is not just about the blood and the pain. It is about what happens to the body after that. The body has an amazing way of healing itself, but it needs the right tools to do so.
When the injury is small, it often heals by itself. Keeping it clean to avoid infection is important but scarring is still likely. When the injury is bigger or deeper, it needs to be closed with stitches, also called sutures. Stitches are actually a type of thread. After cleaning, and hopefully making it numb with medicine like lidocaine, the edges are sewn closed. The stitches can be made from various materials like synthetic threads, nylon threads and silk threads.
Some stitches dissolve on their own when they have healed the wound properly. Depending on the situation, stitches that need to be removed are sometimes better. Experience counts. The doctor caring for you will have to make that decision.
Once the wound has closed, the scarring process begins. The scarring process is different for each person depending on their skin type and how the wound was treated. Sometimes, scarring can not only be different on the same person, but the same wound can heal half great and half with bad scarring. There are many factors that contribute to healing. The direction of the injury counts. There are actually lines in the skin called Langers Lines of healing where an injury along them tends to heal better and across them worse. Naturally, a jagged injury, or one where the surrounding tissue was badly damaged tends to heal with worse scarring.
Stitches are the most common way of closing wounds, but now we also have special tissue glue and adhesive closures. All can be used to close any type of wound, from small cuts to deep, jagged incisions. Again, experience of your doctor counts.
The stitches themselves can be made from either natural or synthetic materials. Permanent materials such as nylon, silk and other synthetic threads are often used for sutures that will be left in the body for a long period of time, where we need longer support for safety. While dissolving materials such as gut, chromic, PDF and others are used for sutures that will dissolve on their own. Each choice maintains strength for different amounts of time, again depending on what is needed.
While stitches can be scary, they do not have to be painful. There are many different techniques and ways to administer painless stitches, including using a topical anesthetic cream with or without then injecting a numbing agent into the skin before administering the stitch itself.
When we get a cut, the body will heal itself by producing collagen. Collagen is a protein that gives our skin its elasticity and strength. It also makes up about one-third of the total protein in our bodies. The less collagen we need to bridge the gap, the less scarring remains. Excess collagen will make an ugly scar. I little too much scar tissue is called a hypertrophic scar. If the scar grows beyond the area of the cut, like a tumor of scar tissue, it is called a keloid scar.
Scarguard is a revolutionary product that can help to reduce the appearance of scars by helping your body melt the scar tissue either as it is forming, or on an old scar. Our skin makes an enzyme called collagenase that melts scar tissue to help recreate the shape that was there before. If we don’t make enough collagenase, we leave excess ugly scar tissue. Scarguard helps you body make more collagenase, leaving less scar. Used after the stitches are out, one independent study showed that using Scarguard resulted in 75% less scar at 12 weeks! It should be started after the stitches are out and the skin is closed.
The complete solution to scarring
Patented formula
Our unique patented formula sets Scarguard apart from other scar treatments. It dries quickly to form an invisible patch and activates the body's natural ability to produce collagenase. No ugly silicone patches, no messy creams and you can even over it with makeup if on your face.
How to Reduce Scarring
Scarguard is a brush-on liquid that works to heal and reduce scarring on any skin type. The product is made from ingredients which promote your body’s production of collagenase,. Scarguard includes topical silicone,hydrocortisone and Vitamin E all of which contribute to its benefits. This amazing liquid dries to a nearly invisible flexible Nanopatch. Scarguard has been clinically proven to work. In fact a study found that people achieved 75% less scar tissue at the end of three months when they used Scarguard starting when the wound closed over.
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Step 1
It is vital that you wait for all stitches to be removed and for the wound to have closed
properly before you begin using Scarguard. The product has been designed to work by forming a thin, transparent nanofilm over the wound, which will stay in place as your skin moves and stretches.
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Step 2
Twice a day, make sure the scar is clean and dry and simply paint Scarguard on.
It's clinically proven to work faster than other leading products, improve the look of tough scars, and reduce the risk of infection.
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Step 3
It can remain nearly invisible. However, for it to stay invisible, you should remove the old
layer by touching a piece of Scotch tape to it and lifting off the old layer before applying a new layer. If this is at all irritating, just apply the new layer over the old one. It will still work, but will be more visible.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About Stitches & Surgery Scars
Will Scarguard work on old scars?
Yes, if the scar is thick and raised, Scarguard will help shrink it.
What if my scar is dark in color?
Then you need Scarguard Lightening Serum. This is a color corrector.
What if my scar is both raised and darkened?
Then you should use both Scarguard and Lightning Serum. First use the lightener and gently rub it in until it completely disappears. Then, apply the Scarguard. Do this twice daily.
Should I use Scarguard instead of a bandage?
Never apply Scarguard until the wound is closed and all stitches are out.
What about sun exposure?
It is very important to protect healing scars from the sun for the first six months after the injury. Solarguard is a unique product design to work along with Scarguard to provide this protection. Remember, you don't have to be at the beach to be tanning.
Risk Factors for Scars
While everyone has the chance of scarring after surgery, there are certain factors that may increase an individual's risk or severity. Several factors include someone's lifestyle habits or genetics. Some common risk factors that may lead to more post-operative scars include:
- Age: Age is a factor that may contribute to surgical scarring. As we age, our skin loses elasticity and becomes thinner, which means it does not heal as well after injury.
- Race: Certain types of skin may be more prone to overgrowing scar tissue after surgery. People with more pigmented skin are more likely to experience keloid scars or hypertrophic scars.
- Genetics: If your family often develops scars more severely than others, you may have a genetic predisposition to scarring. If you know your family tends to have more noticeable or intense scarring, mention this to your physician.
- Incision size and depth: Scarring can also dictated by the size, depth and amount of trauma of the injury. A surgical scar is less likely to form a bad scar while a blunt injury, which damages the skin of the area, is more likely to cause bad scarring. The longer the incision, the more likely it will leave a noticeable scar. Additionally, incisions near joints that bend will be subjected to additional stress when moving, which increases the risk of excess scarring.
- Your individual healing: Scarring varies in degree between different people, and sometimes in the same person. Factors such as location of the scar, direction of the scar and complicating factors like infections and tension of the areas make a difference.
Parts of the Body That Scar More Than Others
Scars form in the deepest layer of skin when fibrous tissues are damaged, usually through an accident, injury or surgery. While it can happen anywhere on the body, there may be some areas that are more prone to scarring than others:
- Joints: Many people may notice excessive scarring near the knee, elbow, wrist and ankle joints because they are areas most often exposed to injury and tension. These joints are used in daily life, causing stress on a healing wound and the skin to pull tighter.
- Upper torso: The chest and upper arm regions are more likely to scar after surgery. This is because the skin is thicker there and under tension.
- Ears: Some people are prone to keloid scars or hypertrophic scarring, from ear piercing. This can be so dramatic that it warrants corrective surgery.
- Legs: More pronounced scarring may be noticed in patients' legs, as this skin tends to be thicker and more subject to trauma than other parts of the body. Scars might also be harder to treat and turn out more noticeable than those elsewhere on the body.
Abdomen: Finally, the abdomen is common area for scarring from surgery. This is an area where scars can heal well in most people
How Long Does Scar Tissue last?
Scars are always permanent , although that does not mean they will be permanently visible. Some amount of the collagen “glue”vwill always remain to hold the injury closed. If it is minimized, often a scar can be just about invisible. The color is usually temporary and will, more often than not, lighten over time. If you take proactive steps, like using Scarguard when a wound is healing and a scar is forming, you can reduce the severity of the scar that remains.