Stretch Marks

Stretch marks or striae are caused by rapid stretching of the skin. These conditions are a form of skin scarring associated with pregnancy, obesity, puberty, and significant weight gain from bodybuilding and other physical activities. They form when the dermis – the middle layer of the skin that maintains shape and elasticity – is stretched more than it can tolerate. Often red, purple, or pink in color, stretch marks are a cosmetic concern but not a health risk. For women or men with stretch marks, effective treatment options are available.

Causes of Stretch Marks

Both men and women are vulnerable to stretch marks, particularly on the thighs, hips, arms, buttocks, abdominal area, and lower back. There are several causes of stretch marks, including:
Genetics: Women are more likely vulnerable to get belly stretch marks if their mother, for instance, had stretch marks after pregnancy. Significant weight gain and loss: Your skin stretches as your weight fluctuates, sometimes resulting in stretch marks.
Puberty: Growth spurts during puberty often result in stretch marks as the skin is unable to keep up with the body's rate of growth.
Bodybuilding: Rapid development of muscle mass may stretch the skin beyond its limits.
Corticosteroids: Heavy or long-term use of oral or topical corticosteroids, a widely used pharmaceutical steroid compound, can lead to stretch mark formation.
Ethnicity: People with darker skin are less likely to have stretch marks.

Laser Stretch Mark Removal

A beam of light removes thin layers of skin around the stretch marks during a laser stretch mark removal procedure. The excimer laser is uniquely effective for this procedure. Unlike other lasers by not burning or cutting the affected skin region, it uses high-energy ultraviolet laser light to disrupt the molecular bonds in the skin tissue. That cause disintegrates the tissue in a process called as ablation. Once laser stretch mark removal is complete, the treated area will heal quickly, and new layers of healthy skin will form. Stretch marks will have disappeared, and a renewed, healthy appearance will result.

Recovery

The affected area will seem red and tender immediately following laser stretch mark removal.  Because of the removed scarred skin and new born skin this will happen. Rarely blistering and other symptoms typical of a burn injury may be present, but these are temporary. Most patients heal from a treatment within a few days, but healing has been known to take as long as a few weeks in certain cases, particularly those requiring more extensive therapy.

Results

In most cases laser stretch mark removal is highly effective.  As with any other technique, success is dependent on the prevalence and age of the stretch marks. Older and more serious stretch marks are more difficult to treat. Patients may require as many as ten treatments to completely remove stretch marks. In the most serious cases, even a series of laser treatments may only reduce the visibility of stretch marks rather than removing them completely. Each case is unique.

Benefits

The most important benefit of laser stretch mark removal is its effectiveness. The treatment has a very high rate of patient satisfaction. It is also extremely safe; the excimer laser is precisely controlled, with little potential to cause injury. Ultimately, it is less invasive than surgical body sculpting procedures such as tummy tucks, with less recovery time, lower cost, and fewer potential complications.

Risks

Like any other medical treatments, laser stretch mark removal is not entirely without risk. Due to laser’s ability to ablate the skin, it is possible that a mishandled laser could cause some superficial tissue damage. That’s why one should seek for an experience dermatologist who can handle laser technology carefully. There is always a risk that severely entrenched stretch marks may not be completely removable with laser treatment. There is also the risk of blistering and other negative reactions to the treatment, but these complications are temporary and not life threatening.