Treating Self Harm Scars

Self harm is a growing issue presenting to GPs, psychologists, psychiatrists and other medical professionals. In the wake of pandemic lockdowns, self harm behaviour has increased and medical professionals are likely to see more patients wanting to receive help in recovering from this condition.

Part of the struggle with recovery is the very obvious reminder of past behaviour in the scars, often present on legs, arms, torso and hands.

Treating the appearance of these scars can considerably improve a patient’s confidence in social situations and support their growth beyond the mental and emotional grip of self harm behaviour.

At Neutral Bay Laser & Dermatology Clinic we have a wide range of lasers that offer us unparalleled ability to effectively treat self harm scars.

Treatment can reduce redness, pigmentation, raised skin, textural differences between scarred and unscarred skin and more. While scars will not be completely invisible after treatment, a significant reduction in visibility can be expected for most patients.

Treatments take approximately half an hour. Patients will be given an estimate of the number of treatments they can expect to need to achieve a good result, however ten treatments would be a reasonable expectation. Treatments are 6 weeks apart.

Laser treatment may include:
Vascular lasers – treating redness
Q-switched and Picosecond pigment lasers – treating pigmentation
Fractionated lasers – treating textural changes

We can tailor pain management to patient needs, using numbing cream, oral analgesics and injectable numbing.

Our staff are all highly trained and experienced nurses and doctors. Patients can trust that they will be supported in a non-judgemental, caring environment, including our private pre-treatment waiting rooms.

All patients will begin with a consult with our senior dermatologist, Dr Terence Poon. Dr Poon’s 20+ years experience using lasers to treat skin conditions allows him to create a treatment plan that addresses the specific needs of each patient’s scars. Patients will be given all the information necessary to understand the proposed treatment, its requirements, costs and realistic expectations of outcomes.

We are committed to working with referring practitioners and other treating professionals to ensure patients have the support they need during their self harm scar treatment. We will keep referring practitioners informed of the progress of the treatment and any other patient interaction deemed significant for patient recovery and ongoing health.

Referring Your Patient

All new patient referrals should be addressed to Dr Terence Poon, our dermatologist, for their initial consult.
Dr Poon’s provider number is 214951FL

Please forward referrals via:
Argus: argusreports@laser-clinic.net
Healthlink: nbd256lc
Fax: 02 9953 7750
The current privacy regulation does not approve the use of email for any correspondence involving confidential medical information, including referrals.