Collagen therapy is a method used in plastic surgery to smooth out wrinkles and reduce superficial scarring. It can consist of injecting an appropriate amount of collagen into a specific area of the skin, as well as placing a collagen implant into the subcutaneous layer. A medical history and an allergy test are required prior to therapy.
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What is aesthetic medicine?
The branch of medicine known as aesthetic medicine came into being thanks to the French doctor Jean Jacques Legran, who initiated, in 1973, the foundation of the first Society of Aesthetic Medicine in Paris, from where, in later years, aesthetic medicine began to grow in ever-widening circles, spreading throughout Europe and the world. Aesthetic surgery includes both plastic surgery, also known as reconstructive surgery, which helps to correct abnormalities or disfigurement, restoring a normal appearance, and aesthetic or cosmetic surgery, which consists in correcting defects in appearance, at the patient's request. It is worth noting that cosmetic surgery is a branch of medicine that deals with healthy people, with the aim of improving their appearance and thus improving their wellbeing and psychological state associated with dissatisfaction with their own appearance.
What is collagen therapy?
One of the therapies used in plastic surgery is collagen therapy, which is designed to strengthen the skin's own collagen network. In the area where the body's collagen network is weakened, the doctor injects the appropriate dose of a collagen preparation, so that the depressions in the skin are reduced, the skin level rises and evens out, the skin becomes softer and tighter. This is an excellent way of eliminating wrinkles or superficial scars. Collagen therapy can also be performed with a collagen implant placed under the skin. When applied to the skin, the agents only have a superficial effect, keeping the water in the skin at the right level and creating a protective barrier, but only temporarily. The subcutaneous implant allows wrinkle problems to be corrected, already at its source, or in the subcutaneous layers.
Before undertaking collagen therapy, a medical history and review of the patient's medical history is necessary to determine whether the patient can undergo this type of therapy. An allergy test to lidocaine (anaesthetic) and collagen itself is also necessary. If there has been an allergic reaction, the patient is pregnant or breastfeeding, collagen therapy is ruled out. Collagen is also not used for breast augmentation nor is it injected into muscles, bones or tendons.
The therapy itself is a series of treatments performed by the doctor at two-week intervals. The series usually involves three visits, the first of which can already produce a visible effect.
In the case of the collagen implant, the therapy is also painless and does not require a long recovery period, but swelling may occur at the implant site, which can last up to several weeks.
It is also important to note that corrections are necessary to maintain a satisfactory result. Under the influence of mechanical and biochemical processes, the collagen or collagen implant degrades. The effect that is obtained after the therapy can last up to 2 years, however, patients, for the purpose of correction, report within 3 to 12 months after the application of the first therapy.
