34 replies to this topic

[ctbo]

I had a really big cyst injected with cortisone.I had a big dent and I was really mad at my derm.the big dent stayed of my face for over a month.maybe a month and a half or so.I was so mad i didnt know what to do.I wish I never had my cyst injected and just left it there on my face.One day I woke up and the dent was gone.Give it some more time and stop looking at it.it will go away.

Edited by ctbo, 01 October 2009 - 02:22 AM.

[hollie7B]

can you give me an idea how big the dent in your face is?? my derm says that mine is 'shallow', but it is abt the size of my pinky fingernail and VERY obivous (before I had it filled with Evolence) They can take anywhere from one month to over a year to fill in... i'm praying mine fills in quickly... the Evolence helped a LOT, but it's still visible (I think i'm going for more collegen next week). I give a lot of presentations with work and I'm so self conscience over this mess. My derm told me I'm the third person in 11 years that she has seen this happen to... lucky me

[msskinproblems]

I'm a bit shy about posting photos, but I think that I will so you can get a good sense of what my "dent" looked like and what it looks like now (after 4 treatments). In the first photo I am at my worst: I could put the fingertip of my pinky into the hole. It was deep. In the second photo I have on makeup so the purplish discoloration isn't visible and the scar is a bit, but just a bit, more depressed than it looks. That being said, you can see the improvement. It is major, and it happened over the course of four weeks.

I am very, very happy with the way that the saline procedure is working. My dermatologist, who, as I mentioned earlier, was very skeptical ("dubious" was the word he used), is "amazed." He says that there is no reason to wait for the healing process to occur "gradually" (which can take some time and may not, in some cases, even occur) when the saline shot process is available. It is cheap and, in my case, very effective in speeding the healing.

can you give me an idea how big the dent in your face is?? my derm says that mine is 'shallow', but it is abt the size of my pinky fingernail and VERY obivous (before I had it filled with Evolence) They can take anywhere from one month to over a year to fill in... i'm praying mine fills in quickly... the Evolence helped a LOT, but it's still visible (I think i'm going for more collegen next week). I give a lot of presentations with work and I'm so self conscience over this mess. My derm told me I'm the third person in 11 years that she has seen this happen to... lucky me

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[AcnePwns]

Congratulations... looks much better

I had a really big cyst injected with cortisone.I had a big dent and I was really mad at my derm.the big dent stayed of my face for over a month.maybe a month and a half or so.I was so mad i didnt know what to do.I wish I never had my cyst injected and just left it there on my face.One day I woke up and the dent was gone.Give it some more time and stop looking at it.it will go away.

I have no idea how people can claim that a dent goes away over night. I have suffered from acne and scars for 11 years and it has NEVER happened to me.

[aafreeman21]

Your gonn have the dent for a couple of days. this is completely normal and dont worry about it

[hollie7B]

Wow, that's dramatic! I'm going for my second saline injection tomorrow on the second spot, it hasn't gotten worse since my first saline injection. My derm ended up putting the entire syringe of evolence in the first spot... mine isn't as deep, but a bigger area. Good luck with the rest of your treatment and thank you again for posting your info!

[hollie7B]

UPDATE- The area I thought was beginning to sink-in resolved after two saline injections, so I then had my original area injected with saline three times (5cc each time, 3-4 days apart) and my first dent is ~90% gone!! I'm bummed I spent $600 on evolence filler (which ended up only turning the area into two small dents instead of one giant one). My derm is ok with injecting the saline more often then 1x/wk. The discoloration has gotten much better and i'm almost back to normal. Thank you again for posting this information!

[mary prankster]

Does anyone know of any doctors who administer saline injections in TORONTO? I had many cortisone injections in my face 6 years ago for cystic acne and still have dents in my skin.

Two years ago I found an article about saline injections for cortisone atrophy and showed it to my GP. He referred me to a plastic surgeon, but the plastic surgeon said he didn't do saline injections, only dermal fillers. I decided not to get the filler, and thought I would just wait and see what happened.

The dents have continued to fill in over the last two years, but they are still visible, especially in shadowy light. I'd like to get them fixed, but I can't find a doctor who will do it.

If anyone knows a doctor in Toronto, or in a city nearby, please e-mail me at stomasz@rogers.com. Thanks!!!!!!!

[ljc293]

I had two tiny cysts on my chin injected two weeks ago (not by my regular derm) and both atrophied. I saw my regular derm today and he initially said that there was no treatment for the atrophy and my only option was to wait. I showed him the article (http://www3.intersci...ETRY=1&SRETRY=0) I printed from the ASDS and he was intrigued and gladly agreed to attempt saline injections.

I just got home and everything looks beautiful, but I know the swelling will wear off shortly. My only concern is that he didn't inject enough to make the skin bubble, and I wonder if this is necessary to really flush the steroid out. The article said to inject 5ccs, but my doc said that's more than one full syringe. Are doctors really injecting 5ccs into one spot? It seems like A LOT. I'm confused as to how much needs to be injected to be effective. I have weekly injection appointments for the next three weeks and I'm desperately hoping this works.

I would suggest to anyone who is attempting to convince a doc to inject saline for steroid atrophy to print out the article brief above (it's from a well-respected dermatology organization that ALL derms know about). I think you'll have better luck that way.

[shalibee]

Would this work on a scar caused by a cortisone shot given 5 years ago?

[skinskinskinskin]

Had a cortisone injection about a month ago... about two weeks ago noticed a dent beginning to form... Looks like it's gotten slightly deeper. I take solodyn and didn't know if that increases the effect of the shot. And more importantly is it going to get worse or better. I'm also a very self conscious person and so i am freaking out. I typically never get them. It's the second one I've had and they were a month apart in the same area.... My thought was too much was in my chin in that area.

But can some one please tell me how soon this will get better and if it will get any worse?

HELP!

[bummedgirl]

I had two tiny cysts on my chin injected two weeks ago (not by my regular derm) and both atrophied. I saw my regular derm today and he initially said that there was no treatment for the atrophy and my only option was to wait. I showed him the article (http://www3.intersci...ETRY=1&SRETRY=0) I printed from the ASDS and he was intrigued and gladly agreed to attempt saline injections.

I just got home and everything looks beautiful, but I know the swelling will wear off shortly. My only concern is that he didn't inject enough to make the skin bubble, and I wonder if this is necessary to really flush the steroid out. The article said to inject 5ccs, but my doc said that's more than one full syringe. Are doctors really injecting 5ccs into one spot? It seems like A LOT. I'm confused as to how much needs to be injected to be effective. I have weekly injection appointments for the next three weeks and I'm desperately hoping this works.

I would suggest to anyone who is attempting to convince a doc to inject saline for steroid atrophy to print out the article brief above (it's from a well-respected dermatology organization that ALL derms know about). I think you'll have better luck that way.

Can you please tell me where you saw the article, when I got to that link I just get basic info not an entire article? please help

mary

[Hopeful123456]

Does anyone know of any doctors who administer saline injections in TORONTO? I had many cortisone injections in my face 6 years ago for cystic acne and still have dents in my skin.

Two years ago I found an article about saline injections for cortisone atrophy and showed it to my GP. He referred me to a plastic surgeon, but the plastic surgeon said he didn't do saline injections, only dermal fillers. I decided not to get the filler, and thought I would just wait and see what happened.

The dents have continued to fill in over the last two years, but they are still visible, especially in shadowy light. I'd like to get them fixed, but I can't find a doctor who will do it.

If anyone knows a doctor in Toronto, or in a city nearby, please e-mail me at stomasz@rogers.com. Thanks!!!!!!!

Hi mary prankster,
i also live in Toronto and i'm wondering if you ended up finding a legitimate doctor who does saline injections for acne scars.

Thanks!

[girl11]

I got a dent at the end of July (that formed from a shot in the middle of July). It did go away at the beginning of September though there is still a little pinprick. I actually have a pimple right now that I would love to get a cortisone shot for so it just goes away, but after that dent happened that one time, I don't know if I ever want to do it again even though I never had that happen before with my other shots. I wonder why it happens for some instances but not others?

[nelayinpink]

I am in the same situation as you guys. Over the last year I got VERY regular cortisone injections in many places on my face to reduce acne cysts. The steroid shots were very effective in reducing the size of the cysts in a short amount of time.

Unfortunately, after a month or so after some injections I would start noticing my skin caving in in the areas where I had some (not all) injections.

I REALLY, REALLY hope these indentations aren't permanent. The way I looked at getting the shots: I wanted to get rid of the cysts to avoid permanent scarring even if it meant possible temporary atrophy. What I was told by my derm is that the atrophy is caused by fat cell shrinkage, and that the area will plump up once the cortizone goes away. Unfortunately, the cortisone is like little crystals that look like dust... and it can stay in your skin for months and months continuing to cause worsening atrophy. Sometimes you won't notice the atrophy till many months later.

What can be done about this? My derm is giving me regular saline injections to "flush out" and dillute the remaining cortisone crystals to hopefully speed up the "replumping" process and fill in the indents. So far I have had a about 3 weekly saline injections, and I have seen some filling in... however slight. Apparently I need to keep going until it's all flushed out. Why aren't more people aware of this use of saline? And why don't more doctors use saline injections for this purpose? It's a mystery to me... but then again I've been disappointed over and over by the lack of knowledge of so many dermatologists. For more information about the saline injections to help with cortisone shot atrophy, look up on Google Dr. Mitch Goldman's paper... he describes the saline injection treatment and says he has had great success with it.

The areas where I got the indentations were injected by a different doc other than my normal derm and I believe he put in too much, or didn't dillute it enough.

Here's what I understand increases the risk of atrophy from cortisone shots:
1) Not dilluted enough
2) Injected too deeply into fat instead of directly in the middle of the cyst
3) Injected into too small a cyst
4) Too much injected
5) Solution not shaken up enough before injection; the cortisone is like dust crystals in a saline solution to dillute it (think of sand in water... or those ball-shaped Christmas decorations filled with water and white flakes that you shake to make it look like it's snowing)... and the solution must be thoroughly shaken so that it is of uniform consistency when injecting. If this is not done, then too many crystals can be injected at one time in one location, causing atrophy.

None of this should be difficult for a doctor or nurse. However, so many docs seem so rushed and overlook the most basic things sometimes!! Don't trust that your doc is aware of all these things... quiz them first, and if they aren't clued in, then find someone else!

Do I recommend cortisone shots if you have huge, deep cysts? YES, YES, YES. Cysts leave permanent scars. Plain and simple. No one wants that. You can get them while on accutane and even after accutane. For people who want to get rid of the cysts to avoid scarring, consider these shots!! Just make sure you find a doctor who will pay attention to all the different things I've talked about here.

Also, find a doctor who is willing to extract/lance/drain cysts (that are able to be drained) before injecting. The sebum and puss, etc. should be removed because that will speed up the shrinking of the cysts and make it less likely that the same cyst will come back later.

hi there! i just want to ask where did you got the article by mr goldman? i want to read the whole article and let my derm check it so i can convince him to do it for me. i cant find the complete article, all i got was the background/summary of the article. thanks much dear!