PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF SCARS: Plastic surgeon Carl Heinz Tizian. Picture by Rashbehari Das

Once she opted for a Caesarian section, the first thing Sumedha asked her obstetrician was if the scar would show too much. Scarring was Nikhil’s primary concern, too, after he fell off his friend’s bike and needed surgery on his arm to fix a multiple fracture.

With an alarming rise in the incidence of trauma, more and more surgeries being performed and an increased awareness of cosmetic enhancement, prevention and management of scars has assumed a new relevance and with it, plastic and reconstructive surgery, according to experts.

“As life expectancy increases and critical care in medicine gets better all the time, more and more people want to look good and longer, and they come to us. However, it’s important to bring plastic surgery out of the beauty parlour and integrate it with general treatment protocols for best and lasting results,” noted plastic surgeon Carl Heinz Tizian told Metro.

Tizian, who has been chief physician at the clinic for plastic, hand and reconstructive surgery of the Clinics of the Main-Taunus Region GmbH at Hofheim Hospital in Germany since 1985, was in town to address a seminar on wound treatment and prophylaxis, with reference to “severe cases”, organised by Win-Medicare.

“Our work begins where the surgeon’s ends, and hence, an interfering team approach is crucial. For instance, to minimise post-operative scarring, it’s extremely important to follow the natural skin-lines and hairlines of the patient during incision and treat the wound properly to ensure there’s minimum tension on the skin. Also, in minor accidents, patients often ignore the wound, which results in permanent scarring that could have been avoided,” he stressed.

Among other treatment protocols, the German expert — working as professor at Hanover Medical School since 1988 and dealing with nearly 100 scientific publications — underlined the efficacy of Contractubex as a “comprehensive therapy” for scars and keloids.

A research product of Merz Pharma, Germany, it exerts anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory, softening and smoothing action on indurated (hardened), hypertrophic (increased size of tissue), painful and cosmetically disfiguring scar tissue. “It is indicated in hypertrophic and keloidal scars, movement-restricting scars and cosmetically disfiguring scars after operations, amputations, burns and accidents,” Tizian explained.

Sachin Varma, consultant dermatologist at Apollo Gleneagles Hospitals, agreed with the visiting plastic surgeon that “recognising a hypertrophic scar early was crucial”, to obtain the best results with this molecule.

“If used within two to three months of the injury, it usually yields a very good response. With so many road accidents these days, the usage is on the rise. Contractubex (distributed in India by Win-Medicare) has also proved effective in Caesarian section scarring,” he pointed out.

Tizian said a large number of people come to him just to seek solutions in cosmetic enhancement. “Many women seek breast enlargement options or liposuction to shed fat... To me, plastic and reconstructive surgery holds far more significance to the huge number of burn patients...” he underlined.

The German is excited about the promise stem cells hold out in reconstructive surgery. “This could well be the future, where we can create an ear or a nose independently with stem cells and transplant it on the patient’s face,” he smiled.