During scar management, the silicone sheeting is thought to stimulate repair of the dysfunctional top layer of skin covering hypertrophic and keloid scars, as well as decreasing the over-adhesive content found in their matrix. The way the silicon sheets balance the complex cellular physiology to promote the proper healing of the problem scar may be indirect and mysterious, but the evidence of its effectiveness and results are clear.
The silicon sheet is a silicon gel membrane, which is made from new type medical high polymer materials. It is a kind of thin, soft and transparent sheet, the adhesive side is applied to the scar, on the other side is a silicone side without adhesion, thus it is unnecessary to apply the other dressing to affix it. It acts on scar through the obvious oxygen tension, pressure and hydrolysis with characteristics of being easy to use, clean, comfortable and offers excellent moisture penetrability, air permeability, pressure sensitivity and acts as a protective screen from bacteria.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Silicone scar bandage
Given these properties, the silicon sheet is an excellent treatment for the healing of new wounds which have closed. In the first few months of the wound closure, it is hard to determine the nature of the scars - as to whether it is a keloid or a hypertropic scar. As different types of scar formation are treated differently, it is recommended that a neutral treatment be used until a scar has been identified as belonging to either category. For this purpose, the silicon sheet is very helpful.
With this in mind, an effective scar management program should be based on the modalities of wound support, hydration, and hastened maturity, all factors gleaned from scientific evidence published over the past 25 years. Tension on a scar in one axis will result in a stretched scar, probably initiated by neutrophils and their neutral proteases. Tension on a scar from many directions or intermittently will result in a hypertrophic scar, possibly initiated by lymphocytes but definitely related to a prolongation of the inflammatory process, with increased fibroblast activity and overabundant |extracellular matrix secretion. The common initiating factor is the tension on the scar, and the critical element needed to counteract this tension is scar support. Clinical experience has shown us that the most reliable way to support a scar is by using microporous tape or silicone tape at the early stages of formation. Hydration is a second beneficial influence on scar control and is the basis of the use of silicone sheeting and gel.