Anti-scar clinic to treat scars left by masks

Face masks used on Covid-19 patients at a private hospital in Bengaluru to supply oxygen has left scars and sores on nearly 50 of them receiving non-invasive ventilation (NIV) during recovery.

The GVG Invivo Hospital in JP Nagar has opened an anti-scar clinic for NIV patients with facial soars. Of the 182 Covid-19 patients the hospital treated, 86 were on NIV. About 50 NIV patients have registered for the anti-scar treatment during the pre-launch registration.

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“60 per cent of the 85 patients needed NIV for more than five days,” said Dr Gunasekar Vuppalapati, Chief Plastic Surgeon, CMD, GVG Invivo Hospital. “Longer the use, deeper the sore. For patients needing plastic surgery, an hour of surgery will cost Rs 15,000.”

The plastic surgeon also said laser treatment will cost Rs 4,000 per sitting, which is for two to four centimetre of skin on the nose and forehead. “Treating two centimetre of skin will cost Rs 3,000 — around Rs 1,000 per centimetre,” he added. Sitting with an interval of a week will cost Rs 20,000 in all.”

The pressure of the facemask during NIV causes more damage to patients with sensitive skin as the scars result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, a condition that makes the skin more pigmented.

However, not all hospitals treating Covid patients with NIV have this issue. More than 200 of 520 ICU patients at Manipal Hospital, Old Airport Road, received NIV and none of them have reported facial scars.

Hospitals have different strategies

“We employ different strategies to prevent the scars,” said Dr Satyanarayana Mysore, Pulmonologist at Manipal Hospital. “We use an adhesive skin cushion called deoderm, which is like an artificial skin that provides padding.”

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The hospital also has NIV-free hours when patients are given high-flow oxygen. On detecting redness in the skin or minor ulcerations on the bridge of the nose, the patients will be given different interface or a soft gel mask.

“Of the 1,500 odd patients in the Covid ward, 60-70 were on NIV, but none reported problems,” Dr Satyanarayana said.

Dr Sunil Karanth, Chairman and Consultant, Critical Care Medicine, Manipal Hospital, said the hospital did not consider this as a problem since patients are given adequate breaks from NIV.

“We have provided NIV to patients for a number of days even before Covid,” Dr Sunil said. “The way it is applied, used and the quality of the masks make a difference. We use it in the ward and ICU.”

He said patients at Manipal never reached the stage of needing plastic surgery. Even the 800 non-Covid patients receiving NIV had no problems.