Washington, May 24: A team of researchers at Stanford University have developed a special wound dressing that they report was able to significantly reduce scar tissue caused by incisions.

Results of animal tests and of an early clinical trial of the dressing were "stunning," said Michael Longaker, the Deane P. and Louise Mitchell Professor at the School of Medicine and senior author of the study.

"It was a surprisingly effective treatment."

After sutures are removed, the edges of a healing incision are pulled in different directions by the taut, surrounding skin, causing scar tissue to thicken and spread. The novel dressing, which the authors refer to as a "stress-shielding device," eliminates this tension and hence a considerable amount of scarring.

Co-author Reinhold Dauskardt and his colleagues created the dressing in his lab. It is made of a thin and elastic silicone plastic that is stretched over the incision after sutures have been removed. The dressing sticks to the skin with the help of an adhesive. As it contracts, it provides uniform compression across the wound.

The researchers predicted the dressing will be used not only to reduce scarring from incisions, but also to make the surgical revision of existing scars a more appealing option; the second scar would be much less visible, if visible at all.

The study was recently published in the Annals of Surgery. (ANI)