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Treating Stretch Marks |
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Stretch marks are one of the most difficult problems to treat. Stretch marks result from damage to elastic fibers in the skin, often due to hormonal influences. It is often thought by people that it is physical factors such as weight gain or muscles from weight lifting that causes the elastic fibers in the skin to stretch and break, although it is more often the hormonal changes that accompany weight gain or changes in body architecture that lead to the stretch marks in most cases. Although the changes on the surface of the skin are |
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dramatic, very little change to the skin is seen under the microscope. Elastic fibers are damaged, and these make up a small percentage of skin (collagen is much more abundant). Restoring elastic fibers in skin is a very difficult thing to do. Agents that repair sun-damaged skin have some effect on stretch marks, since sun also damages elastic fibers, but in a different way. Retin-A and AHAs like glycolic acid improve stretch marks very gradually over time. If stretch marks are red, then the pulsed dye laser that is used to treat port-wine stain birthmarks, scars, and spider veins (which can also produce some improvement on sun-damaged skin) is extremely effective. This laser will easily remove the red from stretch marks and gradually produce improvement in the texture of the skin. Still, improvement of stretch marks that are not red is very slow, and rarely are they improved to the point where they resemble normal skin. Research directed at repairing elastic fiber damage should yield better results in the next few years.
Stretch marks on the abdomen showing a loss of tissue by their thin, atrophic appearance. These red stretch marks could benefit most from laser treatment.
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You can learn more at The Patient’s Guide to Stretch Marks located at http://www.stretchmarks.org. The site has information on treatment options, costs associated with the procedures, common questions, and provides a list of pre-qualified providers nationwide.
To answer your specific questions or schedule a consultation, call Dr. Bernstein today at 610-645-5551.
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Dr. Eric Bernstein
is a nationally recognized dermatologist. His office is located in Ardmore, next to Philadelphia, Radnor, Villanova, Devon, Gladwyne, Bryn Mawr, Haverford, Wynnewood, Narbeth, Rosemont, Penn Valley, Elkins Park, and New Hope.
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