Microdermabrasion for striae distensae

Rustom Tehrani

 Mallya Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, India

Correspondence Address:
Rustom Tehrani
No. 11, Plain Street, Shivajinagar, Bangalore 560001,Karnataka
India

Sir,

We are writing this letter in response to the resident′s page article by Singh and Kumar on "Striae distensae," which does not mention microdermabrasion as a treatment for striae distensia.[1] True, there are no reports of microdermasion being used for striae in PubMed, but a Google search for treatment of striae by microdermabrasion leads to many sites.

Published in 1999, a book on microdermasion written by a French dermatologist, Francois Mahuzier, and translated to English, has a chapter "Microdermabrasion of stretch marks."[2] The author states that 10-20 sessions of microdermabrasion at an interval of not less than 1 month, each session resulting in bleeding points, provide satisfactory results. No anesthesia or dressings are required. There are numerous clinical photographs showing improvement and a series of photomicrographs showing epidermal thickening and more collagen and elastic fibers in the dermis. One limitation of microdermabrasion mentioned is that it has no effect on hypodermic rupturing, which is often seen with large and profound stretch marks. The author concludes that, "microdermabrasion is the only effective treatment of stretch marks today."

1.	Singh G, Kumar LP. Striae distensae. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol 2005;71:370-2. [Google Scholar]
2.	Mahuzier F. Microdermabrasion of stretch marks in microdermabrasion or Parisian peel in practice. Marseille: Solal ιditeurs; 1999. [Google Scholar]