American surgeons perform laser scar removal at Arabkir medical center

Nareh (4) was born with her third and fourth fingers conjoined, and though doctors divided them when she was born, she still had scars that were rather painful and made it difficult for her to move her fingers. There are a number of surgical methods to treat such scars, but it’s much safer and much more effective to treat them with laser.

A group of physicians under the leadership of dermatology professor R. Rox Anderson from Harvard Medical School (U.S.) has arrived at Armenian medical center “Arabkir” to perform laser scar removal for a number of patients, including Nareh, and to teach the Armenian doctors.

The new laser treatment method helps to improve keloid and hypertrophic scars, hemangiomas and other skin formations, Head of the Department of Plastic Surgery at Arabkir medical center Hrachya Arshakyan told NEWS.am Medicine,

On April 13 the American doctors examined 74 patients and chose 23 of them to perform the procedure. They removed the scars of 4-year-old Nareh and those of a number of other children and adults. They generally used local anesthesia for grown-ups and general anesthesia for children to be less stressful. The procedure didn’t last long – only a few minutes for each patient.

Professor R. Rox Anderson, who is an interdisciplinary researcher in photomedicine (combination of the physics of light with medicine), told NEWS.am Medicine that this procedure is relatively new – it has only been around for about five years, and it provides a new way to help people with scars. The doctors use fractional laser, which, according to professor, is very effective for improving the scars and their looks, reducing the pain and improving the ability of the affected limbs to move.

Is this laser treatment dangerous?

According to Professor R. Rox Anderson, in general, this procedure is well tolerated by the patients, and the risks of infections or other complications are relatively low, especially if compared to surgical treatment methods.

The patient doesn’t feel much pain after the procedure. The inflammation disappears within one week, and in two months the improvement of the scar becomes visible.

As doctor Hrachya Arshakyan noted, Armenian surgeons will be able to perform this procedure independently after their American colleagues depart. And they will use the equipment presented to the medical center by Candela.

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