Is Laser Therapy for Stretch Marks a Good Choice

Be the best you can be with Laser Surgery. Have you just had a baby? Congratulations you’re a mom. Are you worrying about getting your old shape back before you were pregnant? Don’t worry your body will bounce back and you’ll return to your past body shape soon enough. Do you worry about the stretch marks from child birthing? Don’t worry, there are several treatment options to alleviate or reduce stretch marks. One of the most well known and safe treatments for abdominal stretching after child birth is laser surgery. Laser surgery can help remove, cover up, or blend the stretch marks into your natural skin giving you the look you desire.

When you gain excessive amounts of weight due to pregnancy, body building, or over indulgence your body’s outer skin stretches slightly to accommodate the increase in your body’s volume. Excessive increases in weight can cause extra stress and scarring, which is part of the healing process for your skin. When this happens the outer layer of skin, the dermis, starts to break down slowly as you gain weight. When your body has gained enough weight to where it cannot accommodate the additional stress it produces striate, or stretch marks. Stretch marks generally start out looking either reddish or purplish in color. After a time the marks turn glossy and this is what we see as streaks of white or silver color. This is the body’s way of dealing with the weight gain, by breaking down and tearing. The size, shape, and area of stretching is based upon each individuals own body makeup. This in no way keeps your body from functioning the way it should.

These tears or stretch marks can also be caused by a dramatic loss of weight. When you diet extensively and exercise excessively it can produce a pronounced drop in weight. Dramatic weight loss can cause the same conditions as an increase in body volume. The abdominal area is one of the most likely spots for tears and stretch marks, but they can also be found in other areas. Weight loss due to child birthing also can cause stretch marks in the hips, thighs, and areas around the breasts for women. However, men and women alike are prone to stretch marks on their upper arms and lower back from either rapid weight loss or gain. Treatments for weight loss are similar to weight gain since the end result is the same

Laser surgery has come far in reducing and removing stretch marks compared to other methods that have been used in years gone by. The standard care for treatment of scars and stretch marks has been using creams or ointments that you have to spread over and rub into the areas where the stretching occurs. For example, many people have rubbed liquid Vitamin E onto the area where the stretching occurs hoping to make the area more pliable. By making the area “softer” the idea was that your body’s own chemistry would heal the area and the stretch marks would magically disappear. Along similar lines people have also used creams that supposedly revitalize the skin through deep penetration of a particular medication or herbal equivalent.

The final results from skin creams and topical ointment applications have been varied. Some people show fair to good results and others only minimal outcomes. However, in many cases the stretch marks reappear even after several treatments. One positive aspect to most creams is the softening effect they have on the skin to allow the area to become more pliable. In contrast, the results from laser surgery have been well documented. Laser surgery’s well known innovative methods are producing better results for the removal or reduction of stretch marks or scarring without having the mess and odor of ointment and creams.

Stretch marks generally start out looking like reddish or purplish creases or patches in the skin. They are formed from the tearing of the skin and what you might see is the discoloration between two patches of the epidermis. The discoloration changes with stages of maturity. As the scar or stretch mark matures the color of the skin changes. This changing of color denotes that your body is naturally going through the healing process. When the healing process is nearly complete or reaches maturity the scar or stretch mark shortens, becomes a lighter shade of your own skin pigment, and appears to the untrained eye as somewhat slick or glossy.

When the stretch mark or scar is in its reddish or purplish state of color, this is the most effective time period for laser surgery, according to many dermatologists and doctors of laser surgery. At this stage the skin is still supple and pliable lending itself best to stimulation of collagen growth by laser surgery. The dermal layer of the skin absorbs most of the energy of the laser, thus stimulating growth of the body’s own collagen resource. By stimulating collagen growth the laser helps fill the void of the stretch mark from the bottom to the top. What can be seen over time is the puffing or plumping of the skin in the stretch area, which in turn helps smooth out the stretch mark and make it less visible.

Laser surgery produces a slight tingling sensation, for example, the tingling you might feel from hitting your “funny” bone except sharper. The surgery is done under general anesthetic. The laser area will look something like a welt, bruise, or burn and will take some time. Collagen growth from the laser surgery takes weeks to a few months depending on the individual to allow for the stretch mark to be filled and eventually disappear. Again, best results for laser surgery are when the stretch marks are newly discovered and in their infant stages. However, laser surgery has been quite successful with medium to full mature areas of stretching.

If you’d like reduce or remove the stretch marks from weight gain or loss laser surgery would be one of the options. Give yourself a treat and live a healthier lifestyle through laser surgery.  Always check with your doctor first and be sure and get recommendations on the clinic or doctor before you proceed with any surgical treatment.