Kelo-cote® Spray
Specially developed for the treatment of painful, sensitive and widespread scars
- Kelo-cote® Spray was specifically developed for the treatment and prevention of painful, sensitive and widespread scars. Its unique delivery system allows Kelo-cote® Spray, a lightweight, self-drying silicone gel, to be applied without rubbing or touching.
- Kelo-cote® Spray is effective for the management and prevention of hypertrophic and keloid scars resulting from trauma, burns and surgery.
- Kelo-cote® Spray, the new scar remodelling spray with its patented formula, is transparent, odorless and self-drying. It is FDA approved as “substantially equivalent” to silicone gel sheeting and has a CE mark in Europe.
- Kelo-cote® Spray rapidly dries to form a flexible, breathable, waterproof silicone gel sheet that binds to the top layer of your skin. This ensures treatment is delivered 24 hours a day.
- Kelo-cote® Spray’s effectiveness is to flatten, soften and smooth scars, relieving the itching and discomfort as well as reducing the discoloration associated with scars.
- Kelo-cote® Spray can be used on joints, flexures, hairy areas and large area scars such as those caused from burns, major trauma or pregnancy.
- Kelo-cote® Spray can be used in conjunction with pressure garments or other scar therapy options if desired.
- Kelo-cote® Spray is suitable for use on children and people with sensitive skin.
- Apply Kelo-cote® Spray morning and night, in a thin layer on the area to be treated and re-apply as needed to heal treated or scarred areas.
- Kelo-cote® Spray has unique advantages over other silicone formulations.
- Kelo-cote® Spray forms a bond with the stratum corneum (the outer layer of dead skin cells) forming a protective barrier against chemical, physical and microbial invasion of the scar site while assisting with hydration. This creates an environment which allows the scar to mature through normalized collagen synthesis cycles, and improves the physiological and cosmetic appearance of the scar.
Silicone in the treatment of scars
Silicone is recognized as an effective agent in reducing hypertrophic scarring, promoting wound healing, and protecting new skin. Published research shows that the benefits of silicone are caused by the 'footprint' left by its sheeting action. These new self-bonding polymers form a long-lasting mono-molecular layer, which is a vapor-permeable protective barrier that keeps the protected tissues well-hydrated and well-oxygenated, while also resisting bacterial and fungal colonization and growth.
The inevitable and normal outcome of tissue repair is skin scarring. It would be ideal if tissue repair could result in total regeneration and that the new tissue would have the same structural, aesthetic, and functional attributes as the original uninjured skin. The result of scarring covers a wide scar spectrum from normal fine lines to abnormal widespread, atrophic hypertrophic, and keloid scars and scar contractures.
Scars can cause unpleasant symptoms and can be aesthetically disfiguring, distressing, and psychosocially and functionally disabling. Scars can cause severe itching, tenderness, pain, sleep disturbance, anxiety, depression, and disruption of daily activities. Psychosocial disturbances include development of post-traumatic stress reactions, loss of self-esteem, and stigmatization, leading to a diminished quality of life. A physical deformity resulting from skin scar can also be disabling. It can also take two to three years until scars pale and mature.
Epidemiology of scars
100 million patients in the developed world acquire scars each year. Some of them cause considerable problems and are treated in 55 million elective operations and 25 million operations following trauma. In the developed world there are an estimated 11 million keloid scars and 4 million burn scars. 70% of the latter occur in children. Globally the numbers are estimated to be much higher.
Scar types
Widespread stretched scars
Usually during the three weeks following surgery these appear when the fine lines of surgical scars gradually become stretched and widened. Typically they are flat, pale, soft, symptomless and are relatively often seen after knee or shoulder surgery.
Variants of widespread scars are stretch marks (abdominal striae) after pregnancy. In stretch marks there has been injury to the dermis and subcutaneous tissues, however the epidermis is unbreached. Since there is no elevation or thickening in mature widespread scars, they can be well distinguished from hypertrophic scars.
Atrophic scars
In relation to the surrounding skin atrophic scars are flat and depressed. Generally they are small and often round with an inverted or indented center. They are commonly associated with acne or chickenpox.
Scar contractures
Scars across joints or skin creases at right angles are prone to develop shortening or contracture. These often tend to be hypertrophic and occur when the skin is not fully matured. Typically scar contractures are disabling and dysfunctional. These scars are common following burn injury across joints or skin concavities.
Hypertrophic scars
Hypertrophic scars are raised scars which remain within the boundaries of the original lesion. They can regress spontaneously after the initial injury. These scars are often red, inflamed, itchy, and even painful. Typically they occur following burn injury on the trunk and extremities.
Keloid scars
These are raised scars that spread beyond the margins of the original wound and invade the surrounding skin. Deltoid keloids tend to extend vertically, ear lobe keloids often grow as large lobules and central sternal keloids commonly develop a butterfly shape. Over time, a keloid continues to grow and does not regress spontaneously. It invariably recurs after excision (50-80%). Keloids may be inflamed, itchy, and painful, especially during the growth phase. Keloids are unique to humans and there seems to be predispositions with dark skinned races being more prone to them. They develop predominantly in people aged 10-30 years, with an apparent predilection for emergence and deterioration during puberty and pregnancy.
Intermediate scars
These are scars that are difficult to categorize. Nevertheless, if a raised scar is still emerging after a year, a true keloid is a potential diagnosis. Hypertrophic scars should show some evidence of regression within this time.
Scar Treatment
An appropriate treatment depends on the type of scar and its etiology.
- Factors to be considered for treatment
- Anatomical location of the scar
- Symptoms (itching, pain, etc.)
- Severity of functional impairment
- Stigma (how much is the patient disturbed?)
Treatments for Scars
First choice:
- Silicone gel sheeting: Kelo-cote® Gel
- Silicone spray application: Kelo-cote® Spray
Others:
- Non-treatment strategy
- Pressure therapy
- Oils, lotions, creams
- Intralesional corticosteroids
- Resurfacing
- Peel
- Dermabrasion
- Laser therapy
- Cryosurgery
- Bleomycin and fluorouracil injection
- Excision – revision surgery
- Radiotherapy
- Combination therapy
- Reconstruction, e.g. with skin grafts, flaps
