What are Stretch Marks?
These are the scars usually found in pregnant women or in patients who gained and lost weight considerably quickly. Stretch marks appear as depressed streaks in the skin.
They are not fatal and usually fade over time. They are not harmful to the body but it can make some patients distressed about the look of the skin.
Pregnant stretch marks are the most common with most women developing stretch marks on their legs, abdomen, hips, and other body parts affected by the weight gain during pregnancy.
As pregnancy progresses, the skin starts expanding and stretches to its limit and cause tiny tears in the supporting layers of the skin appearing as white streaks on the skin. These tears would then turn out to be stretch marks after pregnancy.
Causes
Treatment
Stretch marks can be treated using laser dermatology. The different types of Laser Treatment available are:
Some of the benefits of using a laser to treat stretch marks are:
The Procedure
The procedure usually does not require any pain medicine or local anesthesia.
High-energy laser light is used to remove the thin layers of skin surrounding the stretch marks. After the procedure, the scars usually heal quickly forming new layers of the healthy skin making the stretch marks disappear leading to a better appearance.
Post-procedure
After the procedure, the scarred area might be red and tender. It occurs due to the removal of scarred skin layers and the growth of new skin.
In some cases, there might be blistering and other symptoms similar to a burn injury, but these are temporary.
The treatment usually requires a healing period of a few days for most patients. It might take longer patients who underwent extensive therapy.
Risks Factors
Some of the risk factors that might be observed in rare cases are: