Scars are the result of the healing process that the skin undergoes when it attempts to repair a wound. Every kind of injury to the skin has the potential to cause scarring. Scars vary in shape, color and composition. Some scars are pale and flat, while others are dark in color and appear raised. Keloid scars are raised, and appear red or dark in color.
When a wound damages the skin, the type of scarring depends on the extent of the injury. Superficial injury only affects the outermost layer of skin, called the epidermis, and such injury results in minimal scarring. If the injury penetrates deeper than the epidermis, to the underlying dermis, the damage is more severe, and the scarring is more pervasive.
Tissue beneath the epidermis heals by forming collagen fibers. After sustaining a wound, cells in the wound bed called fibroblasts produce a protein called collagen that fills and closes the wound bed and forms a scar.
Like hypertrophic scars , keloid scars are thick and dark in color, but unlike hypertrophic scars, they develop beyond the boundaries of the original wound. Whereas hypertrophic scars stop growing six months after the wound, keloid scars to continue to grow for years.
Development of keloid scars is an inherited trait, so certain people develop keloids while others do not. Keloid scars appear more frequently in young people and people with dark skin, although that does not diminish their appearance in older people, and people of all skin types. Keloid scars appear most frequently on the shoulders, back and chest.
Keloid scars may be difficult for patients not only because of their appearance, but because they feel itchy and uncomfortable. Keloid scars can become thick enough to impinge movement, particularly if they are near a joint.
Many treatments are available to lessen the visibility of keloid scars, and alleviate uncomfortable itching and skin stiffness. These treatments range from surgical procedures to remove scars to cryotherapy, steroid injections, or cosmetic treatments to lessen their appearance.
Patients who prefer minimally invasive methods to reduce the appearance and symptoms of scars may choose to use silicone gel sheets. Silicone gel sheets are semi-occlusive sheets that seal moisture into the scar tissue and reduce scar tissue and pigmentation. Silicone gels sheets are advantageous to patients because they are cost-effective, and easy to apply, handle and maintain. Silicone gel sheet scar therapy changes a dark, raised scar to a flatter, pale one in just a few months.
If you have a history of developing keloid scars, you should tell your doctor before you receive surgery. While it is impossible to prevent scar tissue from forming, prophylactic treatment with silicone gel sheets after a wound closes is effective in minimizing the appearance and extent of keloid scarring.
