Top Health Tips on Treating Scarring

Colored marks which are present on the skin since birth or develop soon after birth are called birthmarks. They can be of many sizes, colors and shapes. Some of them are present on the surface, while a few of them are raised over the skin surface.
Here are some common types of birthmarks:
1. Salmon patches
These birthmarks are most commonly found. They are flat and thin, and are mostly present on the back of the neck, the upper lips, eyelids and in some cases, between the eyebrows. They are usually pale pink or reddish in colour and fade within a year. However, those which are on the nape of the neck might stay and become permanent marks.
2. Congenital moles
Congenital moles appear at birth. They are usually brown in colour and can be of different sizes. While some moles appear as a single mark, others can appear clustered in groups. The moles which become larger, however, need close observation because there remains a possibility of them becoming cancerous later on in life.
3. Cafe-au-lait spots
They are smoother than other types of patches. They are present from birth and may develop more during childhood. Usually, these spots are not found in the neck or shoulders, but rather at the legs or torso. It is generally not a health scare. However, if these spots appear in clusters and occur in the armpits accompanied with freckles, they might be suggestive of neurofibromatosis later in life.
4. Mongolian Spots
They are usually present in babies who are born with darker skins. Mongolian spots usually fade by the time the baby has reached school-going age.
5. Venous Malformations
These are very rare birthmarks which are formed because of the abnormalities in the veins. These are usually bigger than other birthmarks and need to be treated by a process which is known as "embolization". This involves treating the malformation with a solution, thus putting a clog in the blood vessels and shrinking the mark.

Birthmarks are dark spots/blemishes that are present at birth or appear soon after. Most of them are harmless and while some disappear with time, some don't. Birthmarks may cause a person to be conscious of their appearance and some types of marks may even pose health problems. You can opt for birthmark removal for cosmetic or health reasons.

Types of birthmarks

The two major types of birthmarks are vascular birthmarks, which are caused due to the incorrect formation of blood vessels; and pigmented birthmarks that are caused due to an overgrowth of pigmentation cells.

Common vascular birthmarks are 3 types:

- Haemangiomas: Bright red or bluish marks that may appear above or below the skin's surface.
- Port-wine stains: They are discolorations found mainly on the neck, face arms or legs, which look like wine was spilled on that area of the body.
- Macular stains: These are faint red marks often found on the forehead, eyelids, nape of the neck, nose or the upper lip.

Pigmented birthmarks are generally of 3 types- Cafe-au-lait spots, which are common coffee colored spots; Mongolian spots that are flat, bluish-gray patches on the lower back or buttocks; and moles that may be tan or black, flat or raised and may have hair growing out of them. Moles may develop into skin cancer.

So, in cases where a birthmark can be potentially fatal for your health, it's best to get it removed.

Here are the different ways you can choose from if you intend to get your birthmark removed.

1. Laser surgery - It's a widely popular birthmark procedure, especially for port-wine stains. A yellow light laser, called flashlamp pumped a dye laser, is commonly used for treating and removing birthmarks in children. Haemangiomas are generally treated with a pulsed eye laser when they start to grow in size and become thicker than before.

2. Surgery - Surgical excision can help remove a birthmark and minimize the resulting scar. Mongolian birthmarks, port-wine stains, and haemangiomas can be treated with surgery.

3. Cryosurgery and Electrodessication - Cryosurgery is the application of extreme cold to the affected area to destroy the diseased tissue. Electrodessication refers to the destruction of tissues by dehydration induced by a high-frequency electric current.

Colored marks which are present on the skin since birth or develop soon after birth are called birthmarks. They can be of many sizes, colors and shapes. Some of them are present on the surface, while a few of them are raised over the skin surface. Here are some common types of birthmarks:

Salmon patches: These birthmarks are most commonly found. They are flat and thin, and are mostly present on the back of the neck, the upper lips, eyelids and in some cases, between the eyebrows. They are usually pale pink or reddish in colour and fade within a year. However, those which are on the nape of the neck might stay and become permanent marks.
Congenital moles: Congenital moles appear at birth. They are usually brown in colour and can be of different sizes. While some moles appear as a single mark, others can appear clustered in groups. The moles which become larger, however, need close observation because there remains a possibility of them becoming cancerous later on in life.
Cafe-au-lait spots: They are smoother than other types of patches. They are present from birth and may develop more during childhood. Usually, these spots are not found in the neck or shoulders, but rather at the legs or torso. It is generally not a health scare. However, if these spots appear in clusters and occur in the armpits accompanied with freckles, they might be suggestive of neurofibromatosis later in life.
Mongolian Spots: They are usually present in babies who are born with darker skins. Mongolian spots usually fade by the time the baby has reached school-going age.
Venous Malformations: These are very rare birthmarks which are formed because of the abnormalities in the veins. These are usually bigger than other birthmarks and need to be treated by a process which is known as "embolization". This involves treating the malformation with a solution, thus putting a clog in the blood vessels and shrinking the mark.

Once acne heals, it can leave behind acne scars that consist of clogged pores such as blackheads and whiteheads, deeper cysts and pimples.

What can cause acne scars?
Acne causes inflammation and often results in wounds and damages to your skin, thus breaking down elastin and collagen. After the wounds heal, much of the collagen is left behind which causes acne scars. This makes your skin appear uneven. In addition, post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation (PIH) is also caused by acne. Consequently, there is overproduction of melanin, causing skin discolouration.

Why scar treatment?
If not treated on time, acne scarring may lead to extreme embarrassment, low self-esteem, depression and social withdrawal. Acne scars can be corrected by an acne dermatology treatment. .

Types of acne scars
Depending upon the depth and area of the damage caused to the skin, the acne scars may include rolling acne scars, boxcar acne scars, icepick acne scar and raised acne scars.

Acne Scar Removal
Firstly, the formation of new acne should be kept in check. Depending upon the characteristics of the skin and scars, scar removal is customized. If the scars are few and less aggressive, it can be treated by fillers that can be injected into your skin. If the scarring happens to be heavy and more aggressive, surgical treatment might be needed, one of which is the laser treatment.

Laser treatment of scars (Skin Surfacing)

Fraxel Repairing is a part of the CO2 Laser treatment which removes the blemishes caused by acne, stretch marks and hyper-pigmentation. It stimulates your body s natural ability to produce collagen, rejuvenates the cells and smoothens the surface of the skin.
Active FX, also called MaxFX, is a fractional treatment by laser for treating loose skin, facial lines and hyper-pigmentation.
Erbium is a type of laser used for the removal of moderately deep lines and superficial skin, surrounding the hands, face, chest and neck
People with a darker skin tone should not go in for skin surfacing. For smaller areas, topical anesthetics are used and for larger ones, a nerve block or sedation is used.
Potential Complications
Potential side effects include a burning sensation, swelling, itching, scarring, obstruction of sweat glands causing raised bumps on the skin, infection or pigmentation issues.

After Care
You will have to get the area dressed, soaked, and apply an ointment daily till it heals completely.

Birthmarks are dark spots/blemishes that are present at birth or appear soon after. Most of them are harmless and while some disappear with time, some don't. Birthmarks may cause a person to be conscious of their appearance and some types of marks may even pose health problems. You can opt for birthmark removal for cosmetic or health reasons.

Types of birthmarks

The two major types of birthmarks are vascular birthmarks, which are caused due to the incorrect formation of blood vessels; and pigmented birthmarks that are caused due to an overgrowth of pigmentation cells.

Common vascular birthmarks are 3 types:

- Haemangiomas: Bright red or bluish marks that may appear above or below the skin's surface.
- Port-wine stains: They are discolorations found mainly on the neck, face arms or legs, which look like wine was spilled on that area of the body.
- Macular stains: These are faint red marks often found on the forehead, eyelids, nape of the neck, nose or the upper lip.

Pigmented birthmarks are generally of 3 types- Cafe-au-lait spots, which are common coffee colored spots; Mongolian spots that are flat, bluish-gray patches on the lower back or buttocks; and moles that may be tan or black, flat or raised and may have hair growing out of them. Moles may develop into skin cancer.

So, in cases where a birthmark can be potentially fatal for your health, it's best to get it removed.

Here are the different ways you can choose from if you intend to get your birthmark removed.

1. Laser surgery - It's a widely popular birthmark procedure, especially for port-wine stains. A yellow light laser, called flashlamp pumped a dye laser, is commonly used for treating and removing birthmarks in children. Haemangiomas are generally treated with a pulsed eye laser when they start to grow in size and become thicker than before.

2. Surgery - Surgical excision can help remove a birthmark and minimize the resulting scar. Mongolian birthmarks, port-wine stains, and haemangiomas can be treated with surgery.

3. Cryosurgery and Electrodessication - Cryosurgery is the application of extreme cold to the affected area to destroy the diseased tissue. Electrodessication refers to the destruction of tissues by dehydration induced by a high-frequency electric current.

Hi,

I am Dr PK Talwar, cosmetic surgeon, I have been doing cosmetic surgery for last 28 years and we were among the first ones who introduced Laser hair removal in India and then Laser for birthmarks in India.

When we talk about the birthmarks, the laser for birthmarks there are basically commonest two kinds of birthmarks one is black birthmark like you seen Nevus of Ota or Becker s Nevus and second is vascular birthmarks, like port wine stains or then port wine stains that is very common it is also known as hemangioma, hemangioma are different kinds and different kinds of hemangiomas are treated by different laser-like pulsed dye laser, long pulsed ND-YAG etc. Now coming to the first part that is the black birthmarks, so commonest which we are getting is Nevus of Ota in this there is pigment on one side or both side of faces in certain cases and even in the conjunctiva. This can be very disheartening to a patient, when I introduced this laser initially I tried in 2003 I had a young beautiful lady who had the birthmark on the face one side of the face and she has around 30 years of age but by the time she came to me she was already divorced because of the problem of the birthmark. We gave her 10 to 12 sittings and the birthmark Nevus of Ota 95% or you can be gone and she was very happy, only regret she has was Dr. Talwar I should have come to you earlier, but I told her it is not possible because the laser has come recently so even she had come to me earlier we could not her done anything. So that is one of the cases which is still I remember because it was my one of the first cases and I think best possible results the patient is very very grateful and now we have been treating this kind of problem very commonly Nevus of Ota the results have been very good. The same lasers actually this is Q switch laser, the black pigmentation, now the same laser can be used for freckles, for removal of the tattoos and this Becker s Nevus etc. So the other birthmarks are vascular birthmarks which we call it Port wine stain and the pulsed dye laser is used for that, 2 sittings for black pigments pulsed dye laser is for the vascular or the red birthmarks. Now the difference between these lasers is that the wavelength is different pulsed dye laser is one of the most expensive lasers to buy and the most expensive lasers to maintain, but the results are very rewarding with pulsed dye laser, other modalities are not good as that but pulsed dye laser is the treatment for port wine stain and red birthmarks and we can expect in such cases 70% improvement. We had many patients who have got it done and they are very grateful, we can do Rosacea, Rinofima or facial veins, spider veins etc. we can treat them and patients are really very very happy. So I think the medical science is evolving and the day will come, we will be able to treat 100% of such patients and I suggest strongly that don't go to coeliac because I had a patient with the red birthmark and she went to a coeliac and he applied some sort of acid or what and they burnt the skin. Go to a qualified plastic surgeon or a qualified Dermatologist who is having pulsed dye laser then only you get it done otherwise no and the best wavelength for that is pulsed dye laser is 595 nanometers.

Thank you very much.

Hi. I am Dr. Sanesh Gupta. Welcome to the E. N. D. S. Centre. Our centre provides high class and quality treatment at very much affordable prices. In our centre, we have the treatment for all the cosmetic problems, skin related diseases and hair related disorders. We do all laser treatment like for hair removal, acne scars, accidental scars, burn marks, moles, birth marks removal or any sort of injury in the freckles and even for removal of wrinkles in the skin. For hair related problems, we do the conventional treatments, P. R. P. therapy and hair transplant.

For hair transplant, we have the fully equipped and dedicated operation theatre. Our team do the hair transplant by the F. U. E. and the F. U. T. method. Our lasers are of the best and latest quality. They are different from the Chinese and Korean ones and other low cost lasers and they are costliest in their segment like for example Light-Shade laser is the costliest one. Acupulse laser is meant for acne scars and accidental marks. These are the best lasers in the world. Third is the Viora reaction which is very good for the wrinkle treatment and skin tightening treatment for face-lifting.

Our strength is our infrastructure, our quality lasers and the number of the patients. We daily see more than 100 patients and that is why we can provide the quality treatment at the affordable prices. Areas which we have in the surroundings are very dense like Shahadra, Seelampur, Jafrabaad, Laxmi Nagar and so on. So, by charging a very less amount even, we can provide with the best quality treatment at a very affordable price.

Colored marks, which are present on the skin since birth or develop soon after birth are called birthmarks. They can be of many sizes, colors and shapes. Some of them are present on the surface, while a few of them are raised over the skin surface.

Here are some common types of birthmarks:



Salmon patches: These birthmarks are most commonly found. They are flat and thin and are mostly present on the back of the neck, the upper lips, eyelids and in some cases, between the eyebrows. They are usually pale pink or reddish in colour and fade within a year. However, those which are on the nape of the neck might stay and become permanent marks.
Congenital moles: Congenital moles appear at birth. They are usually brown in colour and can be of different sizes. While some moles appear as a single mark, others can appear clustered in groups. The moles which become larger, however, need close observation because there remains a possibility of them becoming cancerous later on in life.
Cafe-au-lait spots: They are smoother than other types of patches. They are present from birth and may develop more during childhood. Usually, these spots are not found in the neck or shoulders, but rather at the legs or torso. It is generally not a health scare. However, if these spots appear in clusters and occur in the armpits accompanied with freckles, they might be suggestive of neurofibromatosis later in life.
Mongolian Spots: They are usually present in babies who are born with darker skins. Mongolian spots usually fade by the time the baby has reached school-going age.
Venous Malformations: These are very rare birthmarks which are formed because of the abnormalities in the veins. These are usually bigger than other birthmarks and need to be treated by a process which is known as 'embolization'. This involves treating the malformation with a solution, thus putting a clog in the blood vessels and shrinking the mark.

Cutaneous vascular lesions are the most common birthmarks found in children. Flat vascular lesions have a tendency to persist but raised vascular lesions, called hemangiomas may involute gradually. They are the result of several or huge vessels that are formed underneath the skin and can lead to complications like pain, bleeding, cosmesis or disfigurement. It is necessary to seek treatment for both medical and cosmetic reasons.

Cutaneous vascular malformations are best treated by laser surgery and it is effective sometimes for cosmetic reasons. Hemangiomas may need surgery for residual lesions after involution of the lesion. Use of laser surgery, successfully can help in eliminating certain targets (chromophores) within your skin by putting into use the beam of requisite wavelength, energy setting and pulse duration. Initially, these caused serious side-effects like scarring of the skin or permanent dyspigmentation but after the development of photothermolysis technique, the side-effects were less seen.

Things to keep in mind before lesion treatment

The main forms of treatment include laser therapy. Surgery is less used at present as it poses the risk for hemorrhage. The patient should be aware of a few things before going through the treatment procedures.

1. Cutaneous vascular malformations are best treated by laser surgery can be effective sometimes for cosmetic reasons hemangiomas may need surgery for residual lesions after involution of the lesion.

2. Laser therapy can treat vascular lesions such as telangiectasias or spider veins, port wine stain, birthmarks and strawberry hemangiomas. The laser is safer and more effective because it proves to be useful in treating the blood vessels of a lesion without affecting the surrounding tissues.

2. The patient may experience temporary discoloration of the skin surrounding the treatment site. This blue-green discoloration is known as purpura and it usually fades within a week.

3. The laser therapy is more effective in case of people who have a lighter skin color. In case of heavily tanned or deeply pigmented skin, the laser light may not be able to reach the surface of the lesion.

4. A topical antibiotic in the form of an ointment or cream may be required by some patients after the treatment.

Vascular lesions: Cutaneous vascular lesions are the most common birthmarks found in children. The vascular malformations have a tendency to persist but hemangiomas may involute gradually. They are the result of a huge network of vessels that are formed underneath the skin and can lead to complications like pain, bleeding, cosmetic disfigurement, infection, etc. It is necessary to seek treatment for both medical and cosmetic reasons.

Low flow Cutaneous vascular malformations are best treated by laser surgery and it is effective sometimes for cosmetic reasons. High flow vascular malformations need therapeutic embolisation followed by surgical excision. Hemangiomas may need surgery for residual lesions after involution of the lesion. Use of laser surgery successfully can help in eliminating certain targets (chromophores) within your skin by putting into use the beam of requisite wavelength, energy setting and pulse duration.

Initially, these caused serious side-effects like scarring of the skin or permanent dyspigmentation but after the development of photothermolysis technique, the side-effects were less seen. Things to keep in mind before lesion treatment The main forms of treatment include laser therapy. Surgery is less used at present as it poses the risk of hemorrhage. The patient should be aware of a few things before going through the treatment procedures.

1. Cutaneous vascular malformations are best treated by laser surgery for cosmetic reasons. Hemangiomas may need surgery for residual lesions after involution of the lesion.

2. Laser therapy can treat vascular lesions such as telangiectasias or spider veins, port wine stain, birthmarks and strawberry hemangiomas. The laser is safer and more effective because it proves to be useful in treating the blood vessels of a lesion without affecting the surrounding tissues.

2. The patient may experience temporary discoloration of the skin surrounding the treatment site. This blue-green discoloration is known as purpura and it usually fades within a week.

3. A topical antibiotic in the form of an ointment or cream may be required by some patients after the treatment.