scar Management

 

Implementation of botulinum toxin (Botox - Dysport)

Botulinum toxin is a neuromuscular blocking agent, which means it causes paralysis of the injected muscle by preventing the release of acetylcholine from motor nerve terminals. Without its nerve supply, the muscle fibre withers away. The muscle strengthens again as the nerves regenerate.

Botulinum toxin reduces sweating by blocking the sympathetic nerve fibres that control sweat glands.

What can botulinum toxin be used for?
Botulinum toxin treatment was originally introduced to treat muscle spasms, including blepharospasm (spasms of the eyelids), strabismus (squint), cervical dystonia (torticollis of the neck) and spasticity due to cerebral palsy or other muscular diseases.

In patients treated for facial spasms it was noted that facial wrinkling decreased over the treated muscle. This experience lead to the development of botulinum toxin for the treatment of dynamic facial wrinkles.

People often dislike their central scowl lines (called glabellar lines), which are caused by the corrugator and procerus muscles contracting when concentrating, squinting, or frowning. Botulinum toxin injections into these muscles weaken them and successfully reduce the prominence of the line.

How is botulinum toxin administered?

Tiny quantities of the toxin are injected directly into the affected muscles. It takes three to five small injections between the eyebrows to treat the frown line. The injection is almost painless. The treated muscles weaken over the following week or so. Most people do not notice anything. They simply become aware that they are no longer able to contract the frown muscles. They can still lift their eyebrows normally and blink without problems.

You can frown as often as you like in the first day or so, but the treated areas should not be touched. Don't have a facial massage!

To reduce sweating, tiny injections are placed in the affected area at about 1cm intervals; this can be quite painful especially if the hands are injected, so local anaesthetic may be required.

The effect of botulinum toxin starts wearing off within a few weeks but retreatment is not usually needed for three to six months. It can be repeated as required. Many people find after three or four treatments to glabellar lines that they don't need another one for a long time; the muscle has markedly weakened or they have broken the bad habit that led to the frowning or squinting originally.

 

 

Implementation of implants hyaluronic acid (Restylane).

Hyaluronic acid implants

Hyaluronic acid therapy is becoming a popular choice as a temporary filler for facial augmentation. It is a safe, non-surgical procedure that conveniently softens facial lines and furrows. It also has the added benefit of not requiring skin testing before use.

Tiny quantities of hyaluronic acid are injected through very fine needles, boosting the skin's own hyaluronic acid. Depending how many lines are treated, the treatment takes 20 minutes to an hour, with minimal discomfort.

The effects can be maintained by small ‘top-up’ treatments as required, generally about twice a year.

What is hyaluronic acid?

Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance that is found in all living organisms. High concentrations are found in soft connective tissue and in the fluid surrounding the eye. It is also present in some cartilage and joint fluids, and in skin tissue.

In skin tissue, hyaluronic acid is a jelly-like substance that fills the space between collagen and elastin fibres. The role of hyaluronic acid in skin is to:

provide a mechanism of transport of essential nutrients from the bloodstream to living skin cells
hydrate the skin by holding in water
act as a cushioning and lubricating agent against mechanical and chemical damage.
Over time, either through the natural process of aging or through exposure to environmental factors such as pollutants and sunlight, the body's natural store of hyaluronic acid is degraded and destroyed.

In the last 30 years synthetic forms of hyaluronic acid have been developed and used to correct disorders in the fields of rheumatology, ophthalmology, and wound repair. More recently, synthetic forms of hyaluronic acid are being manufactured for use in facial augmentation.

 

chemical Peeling.

A facial peel refers to the application of one or more chemicals to the face which 'burn' off damaged cells.

Chemical peels are sometimes applied to other sites such as the hands. They may be used to treat damage caused by exposure to the sun (photoageing), to remove pigmentation such as freckles and melasma and fine lines and wrinkles.