Scientists from the Yale School of Medicine have found that microneedling can help heal surgical scars, especially if treatment is started 2 months after surgery. The study was published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
The study included 25 patients who had undergone various surgeries: facelift or tummy tuck, breast surgery, and removal of benign skin tumors. Three microneedling procedures were performed 6-16 weeks after surgery.
All patients showed an improvement in the appearance of scars, which was noted during the examination both by the subjects themselves and by the doctors. In addition, the earlier the treatment was started, the more pronounced the result. The optimum time was six to seven weeks after the operation.
This observation goes against conventional wisdom that microneedling should be delayed until scars are about a year old.
Microneedling is the process of puncturing the skin with a large number of small needles. This is believed to stimulate the natural mechanisms of collagen production.
The authors acknowledge the shortcomings of their study: the small sample size and a control group, that is, people whose wounds would heal on their own. Therefore, it is difficult to say to what extent the trace reduction is due to microneedling. However, comparison between patients who started treatment at different times after surgery shows that earlier intervention leads to faster wound healing.