Pressotherapy of a postoperative scar with the application of non-sterile silicone dressings in a 56-year-old woman treated for breast cancer in the Holycross Cancer Centre in Kielce

Abstract

Scarring is a natural process of wound healing. In some cases, however, there is formation of hypertrophic scars and keloids that are the result of collagen decomposition and synthesis. A disturbed scarring process causes functional, aesthetic, and psychological disorders in the patient. Silicone dressings in the form of plasters or gel are used in the treatment of hypertrophic scars and keloids. A case of pressotherapy of a postoperative scar with the use of non-sterile silicone dressings in a 56-year-old patient treated for breast cancer is described herein. The use of a 2-month pressotherapy of the scar resulted in an improvement in all the assessed parameters. Pressotherapy of the postoperative scar in the patient after mastectomy proved to be an effective and promising method. However, the methods of the scar assessment before and after treatment need objectivity. Pawel Macek, Malgorzata Terek-Derszniak, Anna Lipinska, Ewa Blaszkiewicz, Halina Krol, Stanislaw Gluszek, Stanislaw Goźdź 282 Medical Studies/Studia Medyczne 2015; 31/4 Introduction Scarring is a natural result of wound healing. In some cases, however, there is formation of hypertrophic scars and keloids that are the result of collagen decomposition and synthesis [1, 2]. The cause of the formation of hypertrophic scars and keloids is not fully known. Some scars heal well, which leads to the formation of an imperceptible thin line, others are susceptible to the hypertrophy of a scar, and in the worst case, to the conversion into a keloid. A disturbed scarring process causes functional, aesthetic, and psychological disorders in the patient [1, 3]. Frequent symptoms associated with hypertrophic scars and keloids are: itching, pain, and restriction of movement, especially in the vicinity of the joints [4–7]. If left untreated, scars can cause contractures negatively affecting the patient’s health [8–10]. Hypertrophic scars and keloids are usually localised on the skin in the area of the chest, back, shoulders, in places of increased tension, and more often on flexor muscles [8].