What are scars?

Scars are a frequently encountered and undesirable occurrence in many people’s lives. Over the years Dr. Murphy has been moved by how much scars can affect a patient’s life. The scar is not just physical but has a deeper effect on the patient’s psyche and also a subconscious impact.

Can scars be treated?

There are now treatments which can greatly improve scars so as to make some of them almost imperceptible. Sometimes a series of treatments are necessary.

What are the different types of scars?

Acne scars: there are even different types of acne scars such as ice pick scars, boxcar scars and rolling scars.

What is the treatment of acne scars?

Dr. Joe Murphy has spent the past 30 years studying and researching the treatment of acne scars. Over this time he has developed a signature protocol that effectively treats acne scars. Acne scars require a combination of treatments to achieve success and this combination can consist of subcision, cross technique using peeling agents, laser resurfacing with fractional or fully ablative lasers such as Profractional or Contour TRL, non ablative lasers such as Clearsilk, needleless injectors such as Novojet, punch excision or punch elevation, hyaluronic acid such as Restylane and biostimulators such as Sculptra.

How are surgical scars treated?

Post-surgical scars occur following surgical procedures and can be treated using the same modalities as acne scars. It must also be noted that some very severe post-surgical scars can benefit from scar revision with a plastic surgeon but the majority don’t need scar revision surgery. Traumatic scars are another type of scar that can result from any traumatic event such as car accidents, falls or assaults. Very often these types of scars carry the heaviest psychological burden as they remind the patient of the traumatic event. Some of the saddest cases we’ve seen have been patients who have scars that were inflicted as the result of domestic violence. We’ve also seen troublesome scars as a result of burns, chickenpox, spider bites, dog bites, accidents at work and of course as a result of cosmetic procedures. Thankfully nowadays all types of scars can be greatly improved. Surgical scars are best treated earlier in their evolution and Profractional laser treatment can be used 2 weeks following the removal of stitches to achieve the best results. There are even experts who advocate the use of Profractional to the wound edges at the time of surgery. Some treat the operative area with botulinum toxin prior to surgery to reduce tension and improve the scar outcome. This is something that we’ve used and it works very well. Nowadays we can also treat acne scars at an early stage with Profractional even while the patient is still on Roaccutane. There appears to be a synergism between the laser and the Roaccutane which results in excellent results. However, the laser settings used must be very conservative. Sciton BBL Heroic laser and Sciton Clearsilk laser can also be used to reduce acne scarring while the patient is on Roaccutane.