Scar-Less Wounds In The Future?

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania shows that wounds without scars might be in the future for patients. Doctors at the college have developed an alternative method of healing that manipulates lesions so that they heal as regenerated skin as opposed to scar tissue.  This means that any marks that are a result of plastic surgery would not be very noticeable to the average person. While the technique has not been rolled out to the general public, it does offer hope for patients. It also gives plastic surgeons an increased ability to hide their work on patients and might eliminate the need for any future scar revision.

The healing technique is characterized by the transformation of the types of cells most commonly found in wounds into fat cells. Fat cells, also known as adipocytes, are normally found in the skin. But once a wound heals as a scar, the fat cells are lost. The common cells found in wounds that are healing are known as myofibroblasts and they are believed to only form a scar. Unlike the fat cells, the cells found in healing wounds do not have any hair follicles which make them different in appearance from normal skin.

The research team at the Perelman School of Medicine spent years on the process of turning myofibroblasts into fat cells while not causing any scars. According to Dr. George Cotsarelis, the lead investigator of the team, they can now manipulate the process of healing wounds so that the end result is skin regeneration rather than scars. Dr. Cotsarelis says the key is to regenerate the hair follicles first. Once that step is finished, the fat regenerates as a response to signals from the hair follicles.

According to the study, fat and hair develop separate from each other but they do not develop independently. The hair follicles form before the fat which, in turn, means the fat will not form without the new hairs. Once the fat does form, the cells that are created are undetectable from any of the pre-existing fat cells. This means that the healed wound has a natural appearance instead of leaving the appearance of a scar. These results were seen in both the human keloid cells and mouse cells grown during the test.

While this type of treatment in not yet in the mainstream, it does have the potential to change the final appearance of an area operated on during surgery as well as other possible uses in the removal of scars from past accidents or operations.

MA