Womens Health in the News

Dermabrasion and dermaplaning or skin refinishing as it is sometimes called is surgery which is used to refine areas of troublesome skin which gives the skin a smoother appearance. It is a type of surgery which is most often used on people who have suffered facial scarring after accidents or previous surgery and also helps to smooth out very fine facial wrinkles.

It is also sometimes used to remove pre-cancerous growths and is more commonly used in the treatment of deep acne scars. This type of surgery can be done on single areas of the skin or larger areas and used in conjunction with various other forms of cosmetic surgery such as face-lifts and chemical peels.

Who is a suitable candidate for Dermabrasion or dermaplaning?

This type of surgery can be performed on anyone at any age although older people tend to heal more slowly than do younger ones, people with dark skin may also find that the skin becomes discoloured or takes on a blotchy appearance after Dermabrasion or dermaplaning and this will of course be discussed at the initial consultation. If the treatment is being given due to acne then you will have to wait for any flair up in the acne to reside before having treatment for it, as there is a greater risk of infection at this time.

Surgery and recovery times

Dermabrasion is generally performed under a general anaesthetic which will numb the area and will normally last from around a few minutes to roughly an hour and a half depending on how big an area is being treated. Sometimes and in some cases, the surgery may have to be repeated more than once for it to be successful, this is usually true of scarring that is deep or when there are large areas to be treated.

During the procedure, the surgeon will scrape away the outer most layer of skin with a wire brush or use what is called a burr which contains diamond particles. In Dermabrasion, this is continued for as deep as the surgeon feels comfortable without doing damage to the underlying skin.

When using dermaplaning the surgeon will use a hand held instrument called a dermatome, this has an oscillating blade rather like a razor which evenly skims off the surface skin, this treatment is continued until the lowest part of the scar becomes even with the surrounding area.

Immediately after the treatment the skin will be inflamed and sore, you could also feel some tingling to the area or a burning sensation and this is treated with pain medication. Just as with any type of scrape or cut, the areas which have been treated will form a scab or crust as the skin beneath begins to heal.

Once healing has taken place the scab will fall off and reveal new pink skin beneath, when this happens the skin may itch, try to refrain from scratching it and the surgeon will have given you cream to apply at this stage.

Your skin might remain swollen, sore and itchy for several weeks but you can expect to return to work after around a couple of weeks. However it is important that you protect your skin from the sun until the pigmentation has returned and this could take anywhere from around 6 to 12 months.