Acne Scarring … Do I have to live with it? (Part 2)

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The objective of treatment is to give the skin a more normal appearance. Total restoration of the skin is most likely not possible, but scar treatment does usually improve your skins appearance. Scar treatments that are available include:

• Collagen injection- It is injected under the skin the stretch and fills out certain types of superficial and deep soft scars. Repeated treatments are usually needed. It is not recommended for all types of scarring. There are certain medical conditions that are contraindicated.
• Autologous fat transfer- Fat is taken from another site on your own body and prepared for injection into your skin. The procedure usually needs to be repeated.
• Dermabrasion- Under local anesthetic, a high speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. It does not work for all types of scars. It can cause pigmentation changes in people with darker skin.
• Microdermabrasion- This is a surface form of dermabrasion. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created. Multiple treatments are often required.
• Laser treatment- Lasers of various wavelengths and intensity may be used to recontour the scar tissue and reduce the redness of the skin around the healed lesions.
• Skin surgery- Some ice pick lesions may be removed with punch excision of each individual scar. It results in a hole in the skin that may be repaired with sutures or skin grafts.
• Skin grafting- This may be necessary if for example dermabrasion unroofs massive tunnels (sinus tracts) caused by inflammatory reaction to sebum and bacteria in sebaceous follicles. Grafting may be needed to close the defect.
• Treatment of keloids- Surgical removal is rarely used to treat keloids. Because the person usually has a tendency to form keloids, they may also keloid in response to the surgery. Sometimes keloids are treated by an injection of steroids in the skin around the keloid. Topical retinoic acid may be applied directly to the keloid. In people who are very susceptible to keloids no treatment at all is recommended.
  

The best way to prevent acne scarring is to treat acne early and as long as needed. If scars do form, a number of effective treatments are available and should be discussed with a skin care specialist.








DeAnna Maher (RN.)

Clinical Manager. Sona MedSpa - Galleria
*source: AcneNet.com