Stretch mark surgery - is a plastic or laser option best?

Surgery is probably one of the most expensive treatment options for improving the appearance of striae (stretch marks). There are very few stretch mark surgery procedures that actually get rid of them for good.

Abdominoplasty surgery (tummy tuck) is probably the only form of surgery that actually removes stretch marks. This procedure is primarily performed to tighten and contour the stomach wall by removing excess fat and skin. Stretch marks that are located below the belly button are usually also removed in this operation.

Laser surgery is still relatively new and unproven as an effective stretch mark surgery option. However, many people have had a certain amount of success from laser treatments. Lasers are extremely effective in vaporizing and breaking down tissues, but they generally don’t repair tissue. They will help to make your stretch marks fade but they won’t remove them completely.

Laser surgery is only really effective on stretch marks that are in the early stages of development, when they are dark red or brown. A series of treatments will probably also be needed. If you’ve had your stretch marks for a few years and they’re now a silver-white or flesh color, typical laser surgery probably isn’t an option, as they won’t be detected by the laser.

However, there is hope for those who have mature or pale colored stretch marks with new research and techniques currently being developed in the world of laser stretch mark surgery. A new laser treatment coined Coolbeam claims to stimulate the production of new collagen in depressed stretch marks, where a loss of elastic tissue and collagen play a major role.

Research is also underway on a new form of laser surgery that targets the pigment cells in the white scar, causing them to produce more pigment, which helps to improve the quality of the scar’s color.

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Stretch Mark Surgery

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