Scars

After sustaining any type of damage, skin has the exceptional ability to heal and wounds are the end point of the normal tissue repair process. The ideal end point is the complete regeneration with the forming of new tissue having the same structural, functional and aesthetic characteristics of the original. Scars are permanent changes in the skin, resulting from the loss of tissue substance involving the dermis, during healing. Abnormal scars are a common and undermanaged problem and can be esthetically distressing, disfiguring as well as psychosocially and functionally disabling. Different causes can lead to scars, as burns, surgeries or skin traumas. Various types of scars can form when the normal wound process is disrupted:

• Hypertrophic scars: red, thick and elevated and can be itchy or painful.
• Keloid scars: thick, rounded, irregular clusters of scar tissue that extend beyond the original wound.
• Atrophic scars: small, round depressions that lie below the surface of the surrounding skin.