Hi,
I am 25 years old and have been suffering from acene ever since i was 18 and i still get break outs if i dont out acne medication on at night, from all these years of pimples, I have a lot of marks on my face.A friend had told me about dermabrasion and i would like to know more about this procedure like rifsks?cost?timespan? etc.
Hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks and Regards.
Answer:
Hi,
Treatment of acne as well as acne scars is a complex and often frustrating endeavor. The most important thing is to make sure you get good control over the actual acne break outs.
It is not wise to aggressively resurface the skin to treat acne scars when you are still having active acne break outs as most treatments such as dermabrasion can actually aggravate acne break outs post-op.
Once the active acne is under control then you have multiple options depending on your skin color and ethnicity. If you are light skinned and Caucasian then you have more options. If the acne marks are just pigment changes then skin care and use of bleaching creams such as Hydroquinone as well as Retin-A should result in nice improvements. If you have actual depressed scars then the larger ones may need to be excised or punch grafted. As far as resurfacing, chemical peels, lasers such as CO2 and Fraxel and dermabrasion are all valid options. Dermabrasion is often times the best option for scars.
Any resurfacing basically takes off layers of skin and allows new healthy skin to grow. Dermabrasion does this mechanically. Risks are infection (bacterial or viral such as herpes), further scaring and pigment changes such as hyper or hypopigmentation.
Often a realistic result is a 40-70% improvement. The procedure should take an hour or less. Down time should be around 7 to 10 days although you may be pinkish for a few weeks after. Cost depends on how severe the scaring is and how much of your face is affected. It may range from $2000 to $5000.
Good luck.
