Andrew Middleton is one of a growing number of people who have been left with prominent scarring following operations made necessary by sports injuries.

Andrew has had several knee operations to replace damaged ligaments. The first operation was a result of a rugby accident, which left Andrew with a very raised, red scar about 10 inches long. The scar was so severe that even after 18 months, it had not faded at all and was still very painful and red.

"I wasn't offered any advice from doctors about helping me get rid of my scar, just told to take plenty of vitamins", says Andrew. "The scar was stiff with scar tissue and therefore very inflexible - it was painful to move and I couldn't play sports again for a long time as a result of the scarring."

A year and a half after his operation Andrew heard about CICA-CARE^◊ - a self-adhesive gel sheet developed specifically to reduce red and raised scars. Andrew started using it regularly on his scar and was delighted with the results. After a year, the 10-inch prominent scar had flattened and faded and had almost disappeared.

Unfortunately a weight-lifting accident meant Andrew had to have another knee operation in February 1999. However, because Andrew was now well aware of the benefits of CICA-CARE^◊ he used it immediately on his scar. This meant that, unlike the first scar, Andrew had no problems with resistance or with the flexibility of his knee, and as a result was back in training within 10 weeks of his operation. Andrew says:

"I'm very fortunate to have found out about CICA-CARE^◊ relatively soon after my first operation and I'm amazed that no one in the medical profession advised me about the product! Since using CICA-CARE^◊ my scars have practically disappeared and I'm having no problems at all with resistance or inflexibility. As a result, I've been able to go back into training and enjoy my sporting hobbies again."