How does a laser therapy work? | Laser scars

How does a laser therapy work?

Hypertrophic scars and keloids are removed by means of vascular laser therapy. During this process, small blood vessels that serve to supply the scar are welded together. The welding ensures a reduced supply of nutrients and oxygen to the scar tissue in question, so that it shrinks and fades.

After a few months, the scar is hardly visible. Another form of scar treatment is the fractionated CO2 laser. Here, the scar is ablated with the laser in points, creating small holes.

By ablating scar tissue, the synthesis of the body’s own collagen is driven at the scarred area, so that the scar tissue is completely renewed after four to eight weeks. A special feature of the CO2 laser is that the scars blend inconspicuously into the adjacent skin areas. For this purpose, up to four sessions are usually sufficient to achieve the desired skin appearance.

Depending on the size of the skin area to be treated, one session with the fractionated CO2 laser takes about 15 to 45 minutes. Since the treatment is painless and does not involve any risks, it is the most frequently used method for the therapy or removal of scars. However, care must be taken to ensure that the skin is not exposed to sunlight for four weeks before and after the laser treatment. After the treatment, the skin should be treated with a cream several times a day for the first 10 days in order to enable optimal regeneration. The use of make-up and other beauty products should be avoided during this period.

How often do you have to laser?

The number of sessions required to remove scars depends largely on the type of scar and the diagnosis of the doctor to be treated. In some situations one session is sufficient, in others even follow-up treatment is necessary.

What results can be expected?

With laser treatment of scars, they are permanently reduced and smoothed. By driving the body’s own collagen synthesis, the skin can be regenerated and refined in a natural way. Depending on the type of scars treated, the result is different.

Hypertrophic scars, which have an outstanding skin appearance, are reduced and smoothed. Atrophic as well as sclerotic scars, where the skin is pulled inwards, are “filled up”. In this process, the scarred area of the skin is filled up with new connective tissue with collagen fibers and thus smoothed. Apart from the aesthetic results, laser treatment also eliminates symptoms such as pain and itching.