Plastic surgery without scars?

News of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery from Dr. Robert Brueck.

One of the biggest misnomers in plastic surgery is when a patient comes in and says they are coming to me because I am a plastic surgeon and I know there will be no scar.

Sorry. There always is a scar.

Hopefully, on the other hand, the plastic surgeon has in his bag of tricks ways to minimize the scar. In the past 10 years, many new products to minimize scars have come on the market, such as Meslerma, Kelcote and silicone-based products. There also are the "old standbys" such as Vitamin E oil or cream. All are, at best, unpredictable.

But that may soon change. Scientists at Renova Group PLC in Manchester, England are making progress on a host of new compounds that they hope will usher in a new wave of "scar prevention". The crown jewel of this new wave is a product called Juvista.

The key ingredient is called "transforming growth factor beta - 3 (TGFB3). In phase II clinical trials this, when injected directly in wounds, has shown promise to dramatically reduce scars.

Final Phase III clinical trials are set to begin in the second half of this year. This same company also has other products that are showing progress as well, Prevascar and Juvidex.

Keep your fingers crossed - an answer may soon be forthcoming for scar reduction.

For more information about plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery procedures and the latest developemnts in the field, visit Dr. Brueck's blog at Beauty-by-Brueck.com