Curative cosmetology and cosmetic medicine >>>> Chemosurgery – what is it?

Chemosurgery – what is it?

Among the many methods of cosmetic surgery to correct skin defects, there is a method of chemosurgery. This is an additional method of corrective surgery that uses chemicals as a surgical instrument that cause destruction of the epidermis and superficial layers of the dermis. This method can be used along with and in conjunction with the methods of galvanocaustics, dermabrasion (dermoabrasion) and electrocoagulation.

Chemosurgery does not go too deep into the thickness of the skin, which allows the areas of skin exposed to chemosurgical intervention to quickly regenerate (the process of epithelization occurs from the remaining skin glands).

Chemosurgery uses chemicals with keratolytic (melting skin cells) and keratocoagulating (cauterizing skin cells) effects. For the most part, these substances are solutions of phenols in varying concentrations. Trichloroacetic acid solutions in various concentrations can also be used in chemosurgery. The concentration of substances is selected by testing on suitable areas of the skin.

A necessary condition when using chemosurgery to correct skin defects is the presence of healthy-looking skin areas in the correction area, without any hint of inflammation of the skin, and not too close to the skin surface of blood vessels (pale areas of the skin are selected). The skin must have a delicate structure, otherwise keloid scars may result from chemosurgery. For this reason, areas in the forehead, eyelids, and areas near the lips are chosen for the chemosurgical method of skin correction.

Chemosurgery is not used for various skin diseases, for example, infectious skin diseases, pyoderma, eczema and similar skin diseases.

What can chemosurgery correct? Using this method, small and shallow wrinkles are removed around the eyelid, near the lips or in the forehead area. Chemosurgery is used for skin hyperpigmentation, flabby aging skin, and the appearance of senile freckles.

Despite the fact that chemosurgery gives many positive results in correcting the skin and has established itself as an attractive method of surgical intervention in skin structures, it can cause complications:

spots of hyperpigmentation or hypopigmentation of the skin;
deep burns;
formation of keloid scars;
whiteheads.

Additional treatment of varying duration may be required to resolve these complications.

Chemosurgery may be an attractive cosmetic treatment method for those people who avoid resorting to traditional surgical methods for the cosmetic correction of skin defects.