Shetty's Cosmetic and Skin Clinic

A burn scar on your skin does not only spoil your appearance, but also hampers your self-confidence. You can undertake a plastic surgery in order to eliminate burn scars and burn marks. A burn repair surgery is an effective way to fix any previous or fresh burn scars. Although a burn scar cannot be totally eliminated, this surgery helps in improving basic functions and makes the scar less prominent or noticeable.

About Burn Repair Surgery: There are two types of burn repair surgeries. An acute burn surgery is carried out immediately after a burn injury has been inflicted. It is undertaken in a hospital by a team of surgeons who specialize in acute burn repair surgeries.

A re-constructive burn surgery is usually carried out after the initial burn scar heals. Re-constructive burn surgery aims at improving both the functional appearance and the cosmetic appearance of a burn scar. This form of burn surgery incorporates the modification of the scar tissue. The treatment procedure for scar tissues requires several months to be successful. New scar contractures may appear for a long time after an injury. Facial burn scars, which cause problems with the eyes, lips, nose and cause hair loss can be rectified. Abnormally thick, white and discolored scars can also be lightened by undergoing a burn repair surgery.

Procedure: The surgical procedure of burn repair surgery primarily involves scar release methods. After a tight scar has been released, the opening or incision made in the skin is repaired. Several techniques are applied for the purpose of closing the wounds. These include skin grafts and skin rearrangement or Z-plasty. Sometimes, more advanced flaps are required. This depends on the location of the scar and the desired results. Minor procedures are performed in the form of an outpatient surgery, but in case of larger grafts and flaps, inpatient facility is required.

After undergoing the surgery, you must follow your surgeon's care instructions properly for effective healing. This would also enable you to have a long-term effect and improved appearance of burn scars. Follow-up appointments with your surgeon after the surgery are essential.

Before deciding on undergoing a burn repair surgery, you must consult an efficient cosmetic surgeon and discuss about the surgical procedure. You should know all important facts regarding the surgery and also have an idea about the results, which would be obtained. Non-surgical therapies can also be undertaken for repairing burn scars, which include scar massage, application of pressure garments and some other topical therapies.

One of the most common cosmetic procedures performed in the world today is that of breast augmentation or reduction. This is a fairly common surgery wherein depending on the requirement of the patients; the breasts are either made bigger with the help of implants or reduced in size by excising fat and tissue. Although a majority of these patients are female, there are an increasing number of male patients, who opt for male breast surgery as well.

The need for male breast surgery-

The requirement for male breast surgery arises due to the occurrence of Gynecomastia or the development of male breasts. In this condition, fat and glandular tissues are stored within the male chest in the pattern of female breasts, thus giving it a feminine look. This is a common occurrence among men and can be a cause of social embarrassment for the man as well as affecting his self-esteem. Some of the causes for gynecomastia or male breasts would be –

1. Excessive weight gain.

2. Hormonal changes within the body where testosterone levels drop due to conditions such as ‘Hypogonadism’ (in men, the inability of the testicle’s to function correctly) and estrogen levels increase.

3. Medications used to treat other disorders such as certain anti -depressants, cancer medication, and anti-anxiety medications among others.

4. Excess consumption of alcohol and certain drugs.

5. Hyperthyroidism (excess thyroid secretion by the thyroid gland).

It isn’t always just fat!

While many people tend to blame male breasts due to the accumulation of fat, this may not be the case always. Even skinny or people with an athletic build may notice misshapen chest that has more of a feminine appearance and thus would like to correct that. This is obviously caused by hormonal factors and genetics of body shape as well rather than just being obese or overweight.

Types of Male Breast Surgery-

Male breast surgery revolves around breast reduction and contouring to give it a more flat and toned look. This can be achieved in either of these ways:

1. Liposuction – This is a fairly common procedure and is minimally invasive; meant to suck out the fat through a small opening on the skin. With the help of liposuction, doctors can easily contour your chest to have a more masculine look by removing the excess fat. This procedure is a very popular one as it takes less time to recover and also isn’t invasive. However, this is used as an option for male breast surgery when the problem isn’t acute.

2. Surgery to remove excess tissues and fat – If the male breasts have excessive glandular tissue and the problem is acute, a more extensive form of surgery wherein the glandular tissue is excised may be required. However, this is also not very invasive and you can get back to your regular routine within a few days after surgery.

Abdominoplasty, also known as “tummy tuck” is a surgical procedure aimed at removing excessive skin from the abdomen. This surgery removes the extra fat and skin, thus making the abdomen flatter, resulting in tighter muscles near the walls or border of your abdomen. You should consult a doctor and strictly follow prescribed procedures before and after the surgical process. It must not be confused with liposuction i.e. the cosmetic surgery which removes excessive fat deposits in the body. 

Abdominoplasty or tummy tuck is beneficial to you, 

1. If you possess good physical health. 
2. If you are a non-smoker or have recently quit smoking. 
3. If you have a stable health and realistic expectations about the outcome of the surgery. 
4. If you have been pregnant previously and now need to lose weight and fat deposits. 

The surgery is not suitable for the following cases: 

1. If you are planning to get pregnant, then it is recommended to perform the surgery after delivery. This is due to the fact that your muscles can be stretched again after the surgery. 
2. If the appearance of scars after tummy tuck is a problem, consult your doctor about the scar replacement procedure. 
3. If you still smoke or are absolutely unable to quit. 

Types: 

There are two procedures of tummy tuck. These are decided by the surgeon during your consultation and some pre-surgery medical tests. The procedures are: a) Complete Abdominoplasty and b) Partial or mini abdominoplasty. 

In Complete Abdominoplasty, the surgeon cuts the abdomen from hipbone to hipbone and your skin, tissue and muscle will be operated. In the case of partial or mini abdominoplasty procedure, the fat deposits are usually located below the navel region and the surgeon may not move your belly button. The entire procedure may take around two to three hours. 

Aftercare: 
Proper nutrition and healthy meals are required for this surgery. You must follow a balanced diet and focus on post-operative care.

Acne Vulgaris, commonly known as acne is a type of chronic skin condition which occurs when the hair follicles of the skin become clogged with oil and dead skin cells. Characterized by blackheads, pimples, whiteheads and greasy skin, acne can also cause scarring. Typically, acne which cause pimples tend to develop on the back, chest, shoulders but mostly on the face and neck.

Causes and symptoms of pimple scars:

Although the actual cause of acne is uncertain, medical professionals have reason to believe that an increase in the level of androgen triggers pimples. On the other hand, scarring due to pimples are a result of the presence of inflamed lesions. Such inflamed lesions when gorged with surplus oil, bacteria and dead skin cells cause swelling and an eventual rupture in the follicle wall which leads to scarring. The extent of the scar has a direct relationship with the rupture. That is to say, the deeper the rupture, the bigger the scar.

In actuality, the formation of scars is involved in the normal healing process of the skin. The skin cells in order to mend the damage caused by the ruptured pimples, forms fresh collagen fibers which are fibrous proteins that impart flexibility and strength to the skin. The resultant repair which are very rarely smooth and unblemished are referred to as scars.

Treatment of pimple scars:

1. Fractional Radiofrequency treatment is a highly effective method of reducing or removing pimple scars from skin. The radio frequency does not cause much damage to upper layers of skin, but effectively breaks down the scar tissue.
2. Lasers are alternative and are little less painful. This treatment involves the use of skin resurfacing lasers.
3. Fillers are another form of treatment which fill the indentations left remaining from dense pimple scars. Hardly any down time with this but are expensive in the long run.
4. Scar reduction surgery is meant to minimize the scar so that it is more consistent with your surrounding skin tone and texture.

If you wish to discuss about any specific skin problem, you can consult a specilized dermatologist and ask a free question.

Myth - lasers cause cancers fact - lasers are actually used to remove skin and other cancers.

Myth - lasers exposes you to radiation fact - lasers are safe, since they use only light.

Myth - laser hair removal permanently removes unwanted hair. Fact - laser helps with permanent hair reduction not permanent hair removal.

Appearance of dark circles is a sign of you going through stress or due to certain lifestyle habits. Choices like poor sleep or simply ageing can also be the possible reasons. There are a few procedures which will help you to get rid of these irritating dark circles. Read on more to find out all about them.

1. IPL for dark circles: IPL or Intense Pulse Light therapy is an effective way of removing dark circles. This is recommended by the physician when blood vessels appear as blue or dark purple underneath the eyes. IPL deals with vascular pigmentation issues treating which, make the dark circles under your eyes disappear.
2. Skin resurfacing; Chemical peeling or laser resurfacing helps in reducing dark circles by improving the rate of collagen production as well as decreasing pigmentation problems. They also help to improve your overall skin quality.
3. Fat Injections: In this procedure, fat is grafted from another area of the body and via injection, is inserted in the tear troughs in order to treat dark circles. Fat injections are used generally when dark circles are caused due to tissue and fat loss in the upper cheeks or under the eyes.
4. Treatment with Hyaluronic acid: Treatment with hyaluronic acid in which the chemical is inserted through injection into the tear troughs or upper cheek area is temporary as the chemical is absorbed by the body in a few months.
5. Cheek lift: Lifting the cheeks surgically can permanently correct the problem of dark circles which are caused due to the drooping of cheeks, usually due to facial ageing.
6. Surgery for eyelids: Blepharoplasty also known as eyelid surgery is the most recommended and effective way of eradicating dark circles. It is also a permanent solution for getting rid of dark circles. Multiple approaches exist to perform lower eyelid surgery. The results can be achieved after undergoing one or a combination of a few procedures such as placement of tear trough implants and the repositioning, addition, partial or complete removal of fat existing underneath your eyes.

Women who have abnormally large breasts usually tend to develop them during adolescence or during pregnancy. Large breasts can cause physiological problems apart from being unsightly. Some of the problems commonly reported by women include back and neck problems. Let's explore one of the most common methods of breast reduction known as the keyhole method.

What is the keyhole method of breast reduction?
The Keyhole method of breast reduction is the most commonly prescribed form of breast reduction surgery. In this method the doctor places an anchor or a keyhole shaped incision around the areola extending to the underside of the breast. Then a small device is inserted to melt fat and a low power vacuum is used to extract it. After this is done the area is stitched up reducing the breast size.

The extent of the incision:
The length and breadth of the incision can vary from case to case. However, the following areas usually tend to have scarring: 

1. The area around the nipple known as the areola: A round circular incision is made around the areola to open up this section of the breast.
2. Downwards from the areola to underside of the breast: This is where the keyhole shape comes into prominence as this is an extension of the incision to open up the breast.
3. The area on the underside of the breast along a horizontal curve: This may vary in extent from patient to patient depending upon how much tissue needs to be removed and thus may be larger or smaller.

The advantages of keyhole method of breast reduction:
There are many valid reasons why this method is the most prescribed and most popular form of breast reduction. Let's look at some of the reasons below.

1. The most minimally invasive method: Conventional breast reduction may employ techniques, which open up the breast, which is a longer and more complicated form of surgery, and thus the keyhole method being the least invasive has its own advantages.
2. Lesser scars: With other forms of breast reduction, the scars along the incision lines may be much larger. With the keyhole method, much of the scarring is hidden away due the shape of the incision as well as the size being smaller.
3. Quicker healing: Most forms of keyhole surgery use liposculpture or the extraction of fat rather than full excision of tissues and thus it generally translates to quicker healing. Even in cases where excision is performed, healing still tends to be quicker with this method as the incisions tend to be smaller.