What is Fibrosis?
After any type of surgery, the skin can build up adhesions and scars as part of the healing process. the body can abnormally increase the production Fibroblast (a main connective tissue cell present in the body) in the form of bands which connect two or more tissues causing hardness under the skin. Your wound heals in stages.
The Healing process The First step of your healing process starts the instant your surgeon makes the incision. The second is the acute stages of coagulation and inflammation can take minutes or days, the Third step is proliferative and remodeling stages can take days, weeks or even more. collagen is laid down during the proliferative phase, it is disorganized and the wound is thick.Finally maturation phase is when s when collagen is remodeled and the wound fully closes. The cells that had been used to repair the wound but which are no longer needed are removed by apoptosis, or programmed cell death. During the maturation phase, collagen is aligned along tension lines and water is reabsorbed so the collagen fibers can lie closer together and cross-link. Cross-linking of collagen reduces scar thickness and also makes the skin area of the wound stronger. Generally, remodeling begins about 21 days after an injury and can continue for a year or more. Even with cross-linking, healed wound areas continue to be weaker than uninjured skin, generally only having 80% of the tensile strength of unwounded skin.
The Main character involved in fibrosis, it’s the fibroblast, wound remodeling and collagen deposition. Fibroblast plays an important role in creating and remodeling this extracellular tissue and in some cases, this excess fibrous tissue can be painful or disturb your body functions. fibrosis is a set of imperfections that you can observe after liposuction and are described as painful hard lumps under your skin where liposuction has been done. It can also appear as large pores, tissue discoloration and uneven areas.
What are the risk factors of Fibrosis?
Some risk factors are:
- The size of your scar. When the scar is big there are more possibilities to develop fibrous tissues.
- Genetics. There are people who are more prone to develop fibrosis even when having small cuts, they can develop big scars( keloids)
- Lack of movement. Sitting for long period increases the risk fibrosis. Remember you need to move every hour for 5 minutes after your surgery and increase exercise as you start to feel better.
- Inappropriate garment and compression.
We can’t tell who can develop fibrosis, but gif you developed it don’t worry, fibrosis can be treated at early stage with manual lymphatic drainage combination of lymphatic drainage, ultrasound, and fascia stretches can help to soften the tissues and restore the affected area. Fibrosis need to be treated as soon as you notice the lumps under the skin, the longer you wait to see a professional the more difficult to treat.
What are the symptoms of fibrosis?
Fibrosis post-op is characterized by:
Feeling of radiating pain, in some cases it could be constant or get worse in some postures.
- Thick and heard skin added to your scar tissues
- Uneven skin
- Local pain around the incision
- Numbness or loss of light touch sensation
- Pulling sensation on the area as you try to move or stretch
How is fibrosis diagnosed?
The best way to diagnose fibrosis is through palpation of the area treated therefore, check the tissue daily. Talk to your surgeon if you think you have developed fibrosis. When fibrosis is presented in organs or unreachable places you will need a magnetic resonance.
What is the best treatment for fibrosis?
Once you have developed fibrosis you need combination of treatments to achieve better results as: Manual Lymphatic Drainage, ultrasound therapy, myofascia stretches.
Lymphatic Drainage, unlike some others forms of massage, it uses very light pressure, combined with soft pumping movements to drain the excess of fluid from the affected area towards the lymph node.
After surgery your lymphatic systems becomes suppressed. Therefore the lymphatic systems is not filtering properly, causing you pain and fluid retention.
Manual Lymhpatic drainage also allows fresh nutrients such as oxygen, vitamins and minerals to nourish your cells at same time, it reduces swelling, bruising, and fibrosis; it helps in the scarring process and alleviates pain.
Daily drainage is important to relieve pain and drain excess of fluid and speed up recovery. Our fibrosis treatment is designed to help you recover fast and help reduce scar tissue and uneven skin.
No matter what stage of recovery you are in , our post-surgery treatment with help you achieve best results.
Also drinking pineapple juice post surgery due to its anti inflammatory effect. Pineapple juice (fresh) has Bromelain a compound which reduces tissue inflammation and swelling.
sources woundsource.com