A method for reducing human or animal tissue includes making a plurality of excisions to collectively form a patch of tissue to be reduced, instead of making a single large excision in the patch. Thus, scarring after healing is less noticeable. The treated regions of tissue may be arranged such that a total area of all removed tissue segments taken in a direction perpendicular to an axis of the patch changes gradually along said axis. The removed regions of tissue may be navicular in shape, and the patches may be navicular in shape in the event an elongated excision is made. The removal of tissue regions can be realized by proper treatment methods such as incisions and laser treatment.