Laser Skin Resurfacing
Treating patients in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and Palm Beach, Florida

How are Acne Treatments Performed?

There are several ways cosmetic and plastic surgeons commonly treat acne and acne scars. They are: chemical peels, laser skin resurfacing, dermabrasion and microdermabrasion.

Chemical peels: strong chemicals remove the top layer of skin to smooth depressed acne scars and give the skin a more even color. Peels are most helpful in treating shallow and superficial acne scars. The surgeon applies the chemical to the skin with ordinary cotton tipped applicator, starting at the forehead and moving over the cheeks to the chin. Various chemicals are used for different depth peels. Light peels require no healing time while deeper peels often need up to two weeks to heal.

Laser skin resurfacing: Another technique for treating superficial scars is by laser, a device which uses a high-energy, amplified light to vaporize the top layer of skin, allowing new skin to grow. The ultrapulsed carbon dioxide laser, the erbium YAG laser and the pulsed dye yellow light laser are most commonly used for treating acne scarring.

Dermabrasion: the mechanical sanding of the upper layers of the scar. A new layer of skin replaces the ground down (or, abraded, as a physician would say) layer of skin.

Microdermabrasion: tiny particles passing through a vacuum tube gently scrape away the top layer of scarred skin and stimulate new cell growth. Patients with mild scarring are the best candidates; multiple treatments are usually required to achieve the best results.

For deep pitted scars, the physician cuts out the core of scar tissue with a small needle and stitches up the hole. During one session, many of these scars are usually treated. Or, the practitioner may replace the excised part with a small graft of normal skin, (often taken from behind the ear) and then taping it in place.

Soft tissue augmentation with an injectable filler is yet another option, useful for shallower acne scars. The fillers last anywhere from a few weeks to nine months. Some of the newer fillers, like Restylane and Hylaform last two to six years after the injections. Most work by stimulating your body’s natural collagen around the filler and plumps up the area injected.

Some scars are treated with fat grafting, a technique that takes fat from other areas of your body and then injects it into the scars, filling out the depressed areas.  

Benefits of Acne Treatments

Benefits of laser and light treatments include not having to remember to apply or take any medication and the ability to treat hard-to-reach areas, like the back. However, laser and light treatments can be quite expensive and long-term effectiveness has not been proven. 
 

What Are the Risks and Limitations of Acne Treatments?

Your surgeon needs to know about any prescription or non-prescription medications you are taking well in advance of the operation. Laser skin resurfacing may not sufficiently tighten the skin and surgical excision may be necessary to get the results you want. Oral and topical drugs have mixed results. The medications may contain harmful side effects and take a long time to work. Some permanent risks are involved with fillers. Lumpiness, firmness, inflammation and even migration of the material may occur.

How Much Pain is Associated with Acne Treatments?

As with any surgery, you can expect some swelling, mild bruising and minimal pain. Usually, your doctor gives you prescription medications to control any discomfort. The operation is usually performed in the surgeon’s office or in an outpatient surgical center.

Dermabrasion requires anesthesia and most patients heal within one to two weeks.

Laser resurfacing treatments work instantly and with minimal bleeding although you may hear it zapping and smell smoke. It is usually done with a local anesthetic or light sedation, depending on the sites to be treated. Afterwards, the treated skin feels like it has mild sunburn. Initial healing takes a week while the redness created on your face continues to fade for several months. Darker skinned patients are susceptible to pigment changes after laser therapy and the changes are usually permanent so the procedure may not be appropriate for all patients. However, another type laser, the YAG laser, treats acne scars of patients with all skin types, from very dark to very light and with no downtime at all for the patient. Moreover, no anesthesia is required with the YAG laser.

With light peel chemicals, the patient only feels some stinging or irritation and sees some redness on the face. It can also cause facial puffiness which subsides after several days. Medium peels usually do not require anesthesia while the deeper peels usually require intravenous sedation. Temporary flaking or scaling, redness and dryness are normal after effects. Ointments, used for seven to ten days following surgery, keep the skin supple.

Soft tissue injections usually involve minimal pain because the needles are so fine and because a topical anesthetic is sometimes used.

What are The Long-Term Effects of Acne Treatments?

Fat injecting is more permanent and there is no chance of an allergic reaction because the cells injected are your own. Moreover, the results are more permanent. Short term results from laser treatments will be pronounced for mild to severe acne and 50 percent clearance observed after just one treatment. Long term results are expected to last a year or more but often depend on how regularly you take prescribed medications and follow a good skin care regimen. Most patients treated with laser stay out of direct sunlight.

For more information on laser skin resurfacing, contact the cosmetic surgery experts at the Aesthetic Science Institute - caring for patients in Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Florida.