Acne Scar Treatments


 
Acne Scar Treatment
 

✚ What is Acne?

  • Acne is the most common skin disorder in the United States, affecting nearly 85% of all people at some point in their lives. It is most common around puberty, but adults can develop acne as well. Acne appears in the form of blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and lumps under the skin called nodules.
  • It occurs when pores in the skin become clogged or through bacterial inflammation. Approximately 20% of acne cases are considered severe, leading to scarring. Acne breakouts appear most commonly on the face but can also appear on chest, shoulders, upper arms, and back.

✚ What Causes Acne?

  • Clogged skin pores
  • Hormonal changes
  • Genetic factors
  • Excess oil production by the skin’s oil glands
  • Medications
  • Environmental factors such as humidity or pollution
  • Inflammation caused by bacterial overgrowth called: "P. Acne"
  • Pregnancy

✚ Is Acne realated to abnormal hormone levels?

  • Adult female acne often has a hormonal component. It may worsen with menstrual cycle and usually involves lower half of the face, jawline, and neck. Sometimes it is painful, red, cystic, and persists for weeks to months at a time.
  • Both spironolactone and oral contraceptive therapy can be used in conjunction with traditional acne treatment in cases of adult female hormonal acne.
  • Acne in pregnancy can be safely treated with topical treatmentss including:
    • Erythromycin topical Antibiotics,
    • Azelaic acid topical,
    • Glycolic acid,
    • Light Therapy

✚ What are the types of Acne?

  • Comedonal acne (mild form) of acne
    • white heads (closed comedones)
    • blackheads (open comedones).
  • Inflammatory acne (moderate form)
    • pink bumps (papules),
    • pustules (pink bumps with white pus).
  • Cystic acne (severe form)
    • large, painful, swollen, bumpy,
    • deep red bumps healed with scarring.

✚ How do healed Acne Scars look?

  • Box-car scars,
  • Rolling scars,
  • Ice-pic scars.

✚ What are Acne Treatment Options?

  1. CO2 Laser Resurfacing
  2. RF MIcroNeedling with PRP or PRF
  3. Intense Pulse Light (IPL)
  4. NdYag laser treatment
  5. Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) to shrink oil glands
  6. PDT Blue light with 13% Aminolevulinic Acid
  7. PRP Microneedling for Acne
  8. Acid Peels

✚ What is Subcision?

  • Subcision is a minor office procedure used for treating depressed cutaneous scars and wrinkles, using a hypodermic needle inserted through a skin surface. The sharp edge of the needle is used to break fibrotic strands that bind the scar to the underlying tissue.

✚ How is subcision done?

  • After cleansing and marking, local numbing, needle is inserted into dermis in a fan-like motion, to cut the fibrous bands of the scar.
  • The needle is removed, the skin is squeezed around the exit point to evacuate blood, prevent large hematoma formation, and stabilize bleeding.

✚ Indications

  • Depressed distensile scars (due to acne, trauma, surgery )
  • Depressed bound down scars (due to acne*, chickenpox, trauma, surgery )
  • Depressed skin grafts
  • Wrinkles
  • Cellulite dimples

✚ Contraindications

  • History of hypertrophic or keloid scars.
  • Oral retinoid use within 12 months, (eg acitretin, isotretinoin)
  • Bleeding or blood clotting disorders (coagulopathy).
  • Active bacterial or viral infection at the site

✚ How many subcisions will I need to see results?

  • Typically, several sessions of subcision are required to achieve satisfactory results. The results are better when combined with CO2 laser resurfacing.

✚ Subcision After-care

  • Ice can be application on the day of procedure, Antibiotics for 5-7 days recommended, and Anti-inflammatory drugs for 1 week to help healing and pain.