A majority of people in their teens and twenties are affected by acne, while this skin condition rarely affects older people. Acne leaves some people with ugly scars while some escape with no such permanent damages. Once an acne lesion has healed, it can leave a red or hyperpigmented mark on the skin which is an indicator of the healing process that can last for a year. If no more acne lesions come up in that area, the skin can heal normally. But any change in color or skin defect that persists after a year is a permanent acne scar.
There are various topical skin care products and medications that can heal mild acne scars, but most acne scars have to be treated with a combination of surgical procedures and skin resurfacing. Acne scars are classified into categories such as icepick, rolling, and boxcar depending on their appearance. Such classification also helps in identifying suitable acne scar treatment methods. Icepick scars are narrow and sharp as if the skin has been punctured with an icepick. Boxcar scars may be round or oval shaped depressions having sharp vertical edges. Rolling scars give the skin a rolling or undulating look.
There are various procedures for the treatment of acne scars. Each procedure has its advantages and drawbacks, and a number of them are usually combined for the treatment of such scars. These procedures include dermal fillers, punch excision, punch excision with skin graft replacement, punch elevation, subcutaneous incision, and laser resurfacing.
Dermal fillers can be of various types that are injected into acne scars to elevate the surface of the skin and give a smoother look. Dermal fillers include fat, bovine collagen, human collagen, hyaluronic acid derivatives, and polytheyl-methacrylate microspheres with collagen. More than one injection may be needed in this method. Punch excision
is a surgical procedure used for the treatment of deep acne scars such as icepick and deep boxcar scars. It uses a punch biopsy tool to excise the scar under local anesthesia and to suture the skin edges together. The new scar ultimately fades and may not be noticeable.
With the method of punch excision with skin graft replacement, the scar is excised with the punch tool as described above. In this case, however, the skin edges are not sutured together but the defect is filled with a punch skin graft usually collected from behind the ear. Punch elevation is a surgical method for treating acne scars like deep boxcar scars that have sharp edges and normal appearing bases. The same punch tool as mentioned above is used to excise the base of the scar. But the walls of the scar are left undisturbed. The excised base is then raised to the surface of the skin and attached with sutures, steri-strips, or skin glue known as Dermabond.
Subcutaneous incision, also called subcision, breaks up the fibrous bands that are responsible for rolling scars. This procedure is performed under local anesthesia by inserting a special needle under the skin so that it is parallel to the skin surface. The needle is gently advanced and retracted in a piston-like motion cutting the tethering bands. Laser resurfacing is a highly popular treatment for various skin problems. The most common laser types used for the treatment of acne scars are the carbon dioxide (CO2) and erbium:YAG (Er:YAG) lasers.
There are various topical skin care products and medications that can heal mild acne scars, but most acne scars have to be treated with a combination of surgical procedures and skin resurfacing. Acne scars are classified into categories such as icepick, rolling, and boxcar depending on their appearance. Such classification also helps in identifying suitable acne scar treatment methods. Icepick scars are narrow and sharp as if the skin has been punctured with an icepick. Boxcar scars may be round or oval shaped depressions having sharp vertical edges. Rolling scars give the skin a rolling or undulating look.
There are various procedures for the treatment of acne scars. Each procedure has its advantages and drawbacks, and a number of them are usually combined for the treatment of such scars. These procedures include dermal fillers, punch excision, punch excision with skin graft replacement, punch elevation, subcutaneous incision, and laser resurfacing.
Dermal fillers can be of various types that are injected into acne scars to elevate the surface of the skin and give a smoother look. Dermal fillers include fat, bovine collagen, human collagen, hyaluronic acid derivatives, and polytheyl-methacrylate microspheres with collagen. More than one injection may be needed in this method. Punch excision
is a surgical procedure used for the treatment of deep acne scars such as icepick and deep boxcar scars. It uses a punch biopsy tool to excise the scar under local anesthesia and to suture the skin edges together. The new scar ultimately fades and may not be noticeable.
With the method of punch excision with skin graft replacement, the scar is excised with the punch tool as described above. In this case, however, the skin edges are not sutured together but the defect is filled with a punch skin graft usually collected from behind the ear. Punch elevation is a surgical method for treating acne scars like deep boxcar scars that have sharp edges and normal appearing bases. The same punch tool as mentioned above is used to excise the base of the scar. But the walls of the scar are left undisturbed. The excised base is then raised to the surface of the skin and attached with sutures, steri-strips, or skin glue known as Dermabond.
Subcutaneous incision, also called subcision, breaks up the fibrous bands that are responsible for rolling scars. This procedure is performed under local anesthesia by inserting a special needle under the skin so that it is parallel to the skin surface. The needle is gently advanced and retracted in a piston-like motion cutting the tethering bands. Laser resurfacing is a highly popular treatment for various skin problems. The most common laser types used for the treatment of acne scars are the carbon dioxide (CO2) and erbium:YAG (Er:YAG) lasers.
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