A New Theory for The Effect of Silicone Gel Sheet: Visual Analysis by A Finite Element Approach / Japan Scar Workshop


Papers of The 1st Japan Scar Workshop
19. A New Theory for The Effect of Silicone Gel Sheet: Visual Analysis by A Finite Element Approach Akaishi S, Ogawa R, Akimoto M, Hyakusoku H, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan
Even though silicone gel sheet (SGS) had been used to treat hypertrophic scars (HS) and keloids (K) worldwide, its mechanism of action remains undetermined. To date, there are various hypotheses on the effect of SGS on H and K. Although there is no conclusive evidence for any of the hypotheses, various hypotheses such as "pressure", "hydration and occlusion", "oxygen tension", "epidermal barrier", "silicone fluid", and "static-electric field induction" have been proposed. However, of these hypotheses have been satisfactory to clinicians because SGS has not been definitely effective for all HS and K. Recently, we clarified visually that all types of keloids are formed due to stretching tension only with the use of the finite element method, which is a visual analytical method used for finding approximate solutions to partial differential equations as well as integral equations. In this study, the following became clear. The high tension in stretching keloids is found around the edge and not the whole keloid. This finding will support the investigation on the effect of SGS on stretching tension where the finite element method was used.. In the present study, we could obtain an acceptable explanation of the effect on HS and K, by a visual analysis using the finite element approach. This effect is a decrease in the tension around HS or K brought about by sharing of the tension with SGS.
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