Stretch Marks

Stretch marks are pink, red or purple indented streaks that often appear on the abdomen, breasts, upper legs, buttocks and thighs but generally fade to white with time. Stretch marks are particularly common in pregnant women, especially during the latter half of pregnancy, as well as rapidly growing adolescents and weightlifters. Treatment of striae is difficult. New advances include V-beam pulsed dye laser, which is successful in treating reddish stretch marks. The Excimer laser has also been reported to be helpful in treating the older white striae in women, although complete elimination is not possible. Topical Retin-A has also been recommended in addition to the laser treatments.