Mechanical Skin Resurfacing - microdermabrasion

Mechanical Skin Resurfacing - microdermabrasion

Mechanical skin resurfacing surgery takes between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the area, and except for minor regional applications, it is recommended that the patient be anesthetized.

Mechanical microdermabrasion is a surgical method based on removing the upper layers of the skin and creating renewed skin from the lower layers. This surgery actually aims to achieve results equivalent to chemical peeling and laser skin resurfacing procedures. However, recovery times and care processes may vary among all.

When mechanical microdermabrasion is done properly, it is not a method that is expected to leave a scar if it is done superficially or at medium depth.

Microdermabrasion is a surgery performed by abrading the skin at high speed with special diamond-headed motors. Superficial, medium depth or deep applications can be made. While superficial application is mostly applied by scraping the corneum layer for bumpy scars and dark skin areas due to acne or skin diseases, medium and deep dermabrasion is used for scars caused by cutting tools, sunken acne scars and tattoo removal and aims to scrape the dermis layer of the skin. . Patients who apply for deep scars and tattoo removal should know that scars may remain due to the application and that they will go through a recovery period of 10-20 days, depending on the depth of the surgery. In cases where the skin goes below the dermis layer, scarring is inevitable.

Image note: Mechanical skin resurfacing aims to cause abrasions in the epidermis and dermis layers of the skin.

Mechanical skin resurfacing surgery takes between 30 minutes and 2 hours depending on the area, and except for minor regional applications, it is recommended that the patient be anesthetized.

The effect of mechanical microdermabrasion, unlike peeling applications, occurs at the end of the surgery. This is similar to laser. If the surgery is performed for scars due to razor injury, the main goal is to place and stitch a skin patch taken from the upper leg to the area scraped by microdermabrasion, which we call scar camouflage, together with the intact skin area. In this way, tattoo or linear incision scars, which are a problem especially in official institution exams, are camouflaged with another scar.

In my own practice, I surgically remove such linear incision scars, close them with intradermal stitches, and apply mechanical microdermabrasion to the area where this procedure was performed. In this way, after stitching, the epithelial cover in the area adjacent to the stitch can jump over the stitch line and make the scar less noticeable. In areas where only microdermabrasion is applied, the full-thickness connective tissue that forms the scar may not be completely removed. In this case, completely removing the scar tissue actually eliminates the width of the scar.

There may be swelling and surface irregularities in the skin and soft tissue in various areas of the face, especially the sebaceous and sweat glands. These can be removed by mechanical microdermabrasion.

There may be irregularities in the form of swellings on the skin, especially on the nose. Treatment methods for this type of problem, especially in the nose, called rhinophyma , can be done by removing the entire nose skin and covering it with a skin patch, laser treatments or mechanical microdermabrasion surgery. Rhinophyma is a disorder of the sebaceous glands in the skin and the nose size can become quite large as the skin swells. With mechanical microdermabrasion, it may be possible to correct the surface by making gradual thinning according to skin thickness. If the patient's rhinophyma is advanced, it would be more logical to surgically remove the skin and place a skin patch, but this removal in the nose area results in a scar that is different in color and more prominent than the skin in other parts of the face.

Image note: Rhinophyma is a structural disorder of the oil and sweat glands in the nose and can be treated with mechanical skin resurfacing.

The feasibility of microdermabrasion depends on the patient's skin structure. This structure may even affect the problems that may occur. For example, some patients may react to surgery with excessive and profuse wound healing (hypertrophic scar).

Mechanical skin resurfacing surgery can basically be applied in the following cases:

1. Elimination of fine lines and wrinkles on the face
2. sun damaged skin
3. Patients with decreased skin elasticity
4. Those with scars due to acne and other skin diseases
5. Skin stretch marks after weight gain and pregnancy
6. Pregnancy-related facial butterfly-shaped spots (chloasma gravidarum)

Image note: Acne scars on the face can be appropriately treated with mechanical dermabrasion.

Some of our patients may develop raised scars (hypertrophic scars) after mechanical skin resurfacing surgery, as in all surgical procedures, due to the body's excessive response to wound healing. This is unlikely to be predicted in advance. However, if all my patients have had a previous surgery, I check their scars. I recommend that patients with such raised scars try laser rather than recommending surgery. Despite this, such results can also be obtained in laser application.

I stated that skin structure is an important element in mechanical skin rejuvenation. Therefore, the skin structure changes in different parts of the body. For example, the use of a mechanical microdermabrasion device with high rotational force on the eyelid may be risky. The skin should be kept very taut. Despite this, the eyelid is not an area we recommend for application. Moreover, swollen healing of the wound in this area may lead to problems requiring surgery, such as eyelid turning outward (ectropion).

After the healing of the skin after mechanical skin resurfacing surgery is completed, the most important thing to do is for the patient to take precautions to protect himself from the sun.

At the end of mechanical skin resurfacing surgery, a mask is applied to the patient, which will peel off on its own in approximately 8-15 days. The patient is asked to care for the mask daily with special lotions. When the skin cover is completely renewed, it is lighter in color than before. Therefore, in order to avoid color differences between areas, I recommend applying it to the entire face and even the neck, even if there is a problem in a partial area of ​​the face. During the process of skin color settling, the sun may stimulate the melanocyte cells in the skin to create color pigment, and therefore I recommend that you use sunscreen with a thickness of at least 30 UVF for at least 6 months. Despite this, we may encounter a darkening of the color called hyperpigmentation in the late postoperative period . In order to minimize this, it may be appropriate to apply some skin lightening gels a few weeks before the surgery. For hyperpigmented skin, either the same application is repeated or chemical peeling and lightening applications can be performed (see Chemical peeling).