Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is procedure to remove outer few layers of your skin (epidermis as well as variable outer dermis) to make it even & smoother. Dermabrasion is most often used to improve the look of facial skin scarred like pitted appearance by chicken pox, acne, accidents or previous surgery. It’s also sometimes used to remove the pre-cancerous growths called keratoses.

The Procedure

Dermabrasion can be performed fairly quickly. The procedures usually take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour and a half, depending on how large an area of skin is involved. It’s not uncommon for the procedure to be performed more than once, or in stages, especially when scarring is deep or a large area of skin is involved.

In dermabrasion, the surgeon scrapes away the outer few layers of skin with a rough wire brush, or a burr containing diamond particles, attached to a motorized handle. The scraping continues until the surgeon reaches the safest level that will make the scar or wrinkle less visible.

The surgeon may then treat the skin in a number of ways, including ointment, a wet or waxy dressing, dry treatment, or some combination of these.