Scars
Any time the skin is cut, the body heals with a scar. Likewise, when skin is severely inflamed, such as in acne, scarring often results. Dr. Rieder uses the most up-to-date in combination therapies to optimize the appearance of scars after injuries.
Thickened Scars
For thickened scars, Dr. Rieder will also utilize anti-inflammatory medications such as steroids and chemotherapeutic agents that can inhibit and reverse scar growth. These medications may be injected directly into scars or applied with the assistance of a laser that creates a grid of many small channels to allow the medications to completely penetrate the scar. This laser triggers the body’s own ability to heal itself and replaces the abnormal scar collagen with more regular, normal collagen. Mild pinpoint bleeding, redness, and swelling can be expected after treatment with approximately 5-7 days of mild crusting. Several treatments are typically required.
Red Scars
Red scars are typically treated with vascular lasers (e.g. DermaV), which heat and then melt away the blood vessels that feed the scars. Such treatments require minimal to no downtime (apart from transient, mild redness), and should be repeated monthly until the redness has sufficiently resolved. The number of treatments depends on the extent and depth of redness.
Acne Scars
Acne scars receive special attention. While many patients see Dr. Rieder for scar revision after receiving medical treatment from an outside doctor, Dr. Rieder often provides comprehensive, longitudinal, ongoing care. This often means treating people who are living with active acne, achieving skin clearance, and then embarking on comprehensive acne scar treatments. For Dr. Rieder and his patients, these journeys can be very emotional times of resolution and healing.
Scar Treatment
Scar treatment will typically involve combination treatment. Often the first treatment is subcision, or subcutaneous incisional surgery. During this process, a specialized needle is inserted through an anesthetized small needle hold in the skin surface. The sharp edge of the needle is used to break up scar tissue that may be tethering the skin to adjacent or underlying tissue. Scars are released and new collagen is deposited as the wound heals, often leading to the lifting of scars and smoothing of contours.
Subcision is often combined with chemical peeling to large areas of skin, and focally to scars in higher concentrations, vascular and fractionated Lasers, and dermal fillers.
