Atrophic scars are sunken areas in the skin that occur when the underlying supportive structures – collagen and fat – are lost. Often a result of acne, chickenpox, trauma, or many other skin conditions, these scars appear as depressions in the skin.
Atrophic Scars
They are depressed, sunken and often have a pitted appearance. Atrophic scars happen when the body does not make enough collagen while healing, which causes the loss of tissue. Acne, chickenpox or injuries involving loss of skin tissue are the usual causes of these scars.
Atrophic scars occur when your skin is unable to regenerate sufficient collagen and results in an indentation. These skin indentations can result from traumatic, acne, surgical, or chickenpox scars. While some scars may undergo some level of fading, atrophic scars are particularly stubborn and don't resolve over time.
Based on morphological changes seen in the wound tissue during the course of the healing process, these phases are defined as the inflammatory phase, the proliferative phase (with the development of the granulation tissue) and reepithelialization phase, and the remodeling phase which includes maturation and scar ...
Although many scars fade over time and become barely noticeable, disruptions to the healing process can cause them to become red, raised, indented or otherwise deformed. The prominence of a scar depends on the type and severity of the injury that caused it, and the patient's age, overall health and ability to heal.
Depressed (atrophic): These sunken scars often result from chickenpox or acne. They look like rounded pits or small indentations in the skin. Also called ice pick scars, they develop most often on the face. Acne scars may become more noticeable as you age because the skin loses collagen and elasticity over time.
In a composition, an indentation is a blank space between a margin and the beginning of a line of text. The beginning of this paragraph is indented. Standard paragraph indentation is about five spaces or one-quarter to one-half of an inch, depending on which style guide you follow.
Scars seem to get worse before they get better. For about six weeks after surgery the scar becomes red, firm and hard. This is the body's way of making a very strong and solid scar. Over the next four months the scar will soften and lose the redness.
Hypertrophic scars that result from burn wounds are more difficult to treat. Superficial burn wounds usually heal without forming hypertrophic scars. Deep burn wounds are harder to treat. Many dermatologic and plastic surgeons treat these by removing the burned area and then using a skin graft.
What Is Abnormal Scarring? When skin is cut or injured, the body heals itself by forming scar tissue. If the body makes too much scar tissue, abnormal scarring results. “Hypertrophic scars” are usually raised, red fibrous lesions, and keloid scars extend beyond the edges of the original cut or wound.
An atrophic scar develops when the skin cannot regenerate tissue correctly. Unlike keloids and hypertrophic scars, atrophic scars are indented in appearance due to healing that occurs below the expected layer of skin.
“Usually the scars will heal rather quickly - within the course of a few weeks to one or two months - but you may not see final results for up to a year. Individual factors also influence how quickly your body is able to recover from a wound.” In older patients, or where the skin is more lax, scars settle more rapidly.
Moisturize Atrophic Scars
This will help to keep your skin hydrated making it appear less dry and rough around the scar. Try using a non-comedogenic moisturizer, like Vaseline® Jelly – it won't clog your pores and is appropriate for use on sensitive areas, like the face.
Atrophic scars are the most common type of acne scarring and account for about 80-90% of all acne scarring. Atrophic scars are categorized into 3 types by their morphology: icepick, rolling, or boxcar.
Mederma PM Cream can be used on atrophic scars such as acne and chicken pox scars. Mederma® PM Cream may help to smooth and soften the edges of the pox mark but it will not cause the indented area to fill in. By smoothing the edges, the mark may become less noticeable.
Massaging your scars is important. It keeps the tissue around the incision loose so it doesn't “stick” to the tissue underneath. Wait until after your skin has healed before you start massaging your scar. Your skin will be healed when the edges of the scar are well closed with no gaps, and have no drainage.
For best results, you should perform scar massage for at least 10 minutes, twice a day, for six months. You should only stop sooner than that if the scar starts showing signs of infection or you experience intolerable discomfort.
The available treatment modalities for atrophic scarring available in literature are ablative fractional laser therapy (6), non-ablative laser therapy (16), dermabrasion (2), chemical peel therapy (5), surgical techniques such as subcision, autologous fat transfer and injectables (5) and combination therapies (7) ...
Generally, covering scars or protection with sunscreen products are recommended for what can be a prolonged period of time. Some areas of the body are more prone to severe scars. These areas include the ears, the top of the shoulder and the area in front of the breastbone (sternum).
The scar will tend to remain red for 1-6 months afterwards. After that as the collagen, fibers and scar organizes and matures, the scar tends to contract down and flatten out. The color becomes less red and begins to take on the color and appearance of the surrounding tissue. It will then gently fade with time.
It is important to not let your scar become dry. During massage and throughout the day, you can apply lotion or vitamin E. If you decide to use lotion, be sure to use something that is gentle and without perfume, such as Eucerin or Cocoa Butter.
These are: • First line indent is the distance between the first line of the paragraph and the left margin. Left indent is the distance between the start of each line of the paragraph and the left margin. Right indent is the distance between the end of each line of the paragraph and the right margin.
Also called a second line indent or reverse indent, a hanging indent is the formatting used for the second line and subsequent lines of a citation in MLA, APA, and Chicago. In terms of what hanging indents look like, it's five spaces or 1/2 inch from the left margin.