Scar Management 

Scars are the inevitable consequence of wound healing through trauma, burns or infection. ‘Normal’ scars are those that heal under optimal conditions where the wound is clean and the edges come together well and under minimal tension.

Contaminated wounds, irregular wounds, and tissue loss can result in unsatisfactory, ‘pathological’ scars. Some people have a genetic tendency to produce more visible scars and even minor trauma can produce a prominent or uncomfortable scar. Pathological scars can be atrophic, hypertrophic and keloidal, and one patient or scarred area may have several types of scar at a time. Even ‘normal’ scars can be problematic because they are painful, limit function or be aesthetically unpleasing.

Scar treatment is a specialty in itself, but uses the principles of plastic surgery reconstruction in combination with cutting edge technology to produce the best outcome.

From his work on the Burns Unit, Mr. Collins has extensive experience of treating scars resulting from severely traumatic injuries. He set up the Scar Laser Service at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, using some of the most advanced lasers available.

The Ultrapulse® is an ablative CO2 laser that can resurface and remodel scars by promoting new collagen formation, making scars flatter and softer. The pulse dye laser helps reduce the vascularity and redness of scars, helping maturation and improving their colour.  

Treatments offered

• Steroid and 5-fluorouracil injections

• Silicone dressings

• Skin grafting-split thickness and full thickness grafting

• Scar excision, Z-plasty, V-Y plasty

• Serial excision

• Skin and soft tissue flaps

• Skin substitutes, Integra®, Matriderm®

• Tissue expansion

• Scar management advice

• Autologous Cell sprays, Recell®

• Microneedling

• Fat grafting

• Laser and light based technologies-CO2 laser, Pulse dye laser (PDL), Intense pulsed light (IPL) and the M22 laser.