One of the most common questions asked in a dermatology office by patients suffering from acne is: “Doctor, will I have scars?”
The answer, as easy as it may seem, is difficult since basically no dermatologist can predict which patient will show scars, how deep and obvious they will be and of course whether they will be permanent or not.
Of course, the more severe the form of acne, the more likely it is that scars will appear. Unfortunately, to date, the only way to prevent
acne scar treatment is the treatment of acne itself as early as possible and for as long as necessary (usually several years).
There are many treatment methods to fight acne scars.
The choice of the appropriate treatment for each patient must be made in collaboration with the dermatologist and depends on:
- which method is best in relation to the patient’s skin type
- how long the treatment lasts and of course how much recovery time each of them has
- How safe is the treatment, that is, at what rate do various complications occur, what are they and if they occur are they reversible?
- what expectations do you have from the treatment, are they achievable?
- how much do these scars affect your psychology, your personal, professional and social life and what will change with their treatment?
- what is the cost of treatment?
So having discussed all these and any other questions you may have with your dermatologist, let’s take a look at the treatments that
are available:
- Implants and fat grafting in scars: Implants are materials that, depending on their composition, are either absorbable (hyaluronic acid, etc.), so they must be renewed at regular intervals, or permanent (silicone). They are injected locally into the scars. Fat transplantation consists of taking fat from other areas of the body and, after appropriate processing, injecting it into the places (eg scars) that we want. They have good effectiveness but it is limited only to soft superficial or deep scars.
- Dermabrasion: One of the oldest and most effective treatments for acne scars, it is done under local anesthesia and essentially exfoliates the surface layers of the skin. It has an excellent effect on superficial scars with a single session, but also a relatively long recovery time.
- Microdermabrasion: A relatively new, non-invasive method that is essentially a limited dermabrasion. Its effectiveness is less than the much more invasive dermabrasion, several sessions are needed, but it has a short recovery time, minimal complications and a little less cost.
- Chemical Peelings: One of the oldest and most effective treatments especially for superficial scars. The recovery time and the number of sessions depend on the strength of the peeling.
- Dermatosurgical removal of scars: Sometimes and when the number of scars is limited, dermatosurgical removal is the most effective and cheapest treatment.
- Treatment of acne scars with Laser: Impressive results but their main drawback was the long recovery time. The “revolution” happened with the discovery of a new type of Laser, the Fractional Laser. Now the treatment of acne scars with this particular type is the most effective and the recovery time is remarkably short. Four to six sessions are needed.