178 replies to this topic

[noggin]

did you take accutane?

[747ben]

[slacko]

[OursFan]

Yes, I took Accutane.

Please PM me if you need more information on the Dr.

The link to my needling comparison pics are in one of Rossignol's posts above.

[zara2006]

how long did you have to wait to have this subcision done?

i asked to have a peeling last year and am still waiting for my appointment.

thanx

[heymikey]

*bump*

How long until the swelling subsided?

[olbarn]

it's funny when people ask questions on old threads that ended 2 years ago

[Rossignol]

Hi Guys, I hope you're all well! It's nice to come back here after what seems like a long time away - I've been busy with university finals and subsequent finding of a job!

Anyway, I finally got round to having my first round of Subcision today. It was performed by Dr Patalay, who works under Dr Chu and Dr Texera at the Hammersmith hospital in London. This treatment was actually at Ealing general hospital, which was a bit of a pain to get to, but I feel great to have finally had it done.

The procedure was very similar to the above descriptions by Tamara and others. It lasted for around 30 minutes, with seemingly about half of this being devoted to the anaesthetic! This was by far the worst part - I wasn't expecting anything too bad from the descriptions above but I did find the shots quite unpleasant - mainly due to the pulling and stretching of the skin while the needle was in, apparently to get an even spread of the anaesthetic. It was bearable, but was very uncomfortable for those ten minutes or so, certainly more so than the session of needling I had done.

Following the ten or so shots of local anaesthetic, Dr Patalay proceeded with the subcision, using the Nokor needle to sever the tethered scars. Because I was so numb, I didn't really feel much of this, apart from a couple of sharp areas that were less numbed. I could feel and hear the scar tissue being cut, which was a strange sensation, as mentioned by other posters, but there was no real pain involved in this part.

As Tamara mentioned, there did seem to be quite a lot of blood, and following the procedure, the nurse had to press hard on my cheeks for 5 minutes with gauze to stem the bleeding.

I'm not expecting wonderful results from this - Dr Patalay said the first session usually yields the least impressive results as the scars are so tightly bound down. He said subsequent sessions are generally more successful, but that I should expect to see some improvement. He suggested 30% might be a reasonable figure. Also, Dr Patalay is obviously not as experienced with the Subcision as the two consultants are. I'm hoping for my next session I might get Chu or Texera, but I don't think there's any way of specifying this unless you go Private.

Following the procedure, my cheeks felt very thickly numb, and I was very swollen for the first 2 couple of hours. As Robert (I think) described, the look is very "Hamster cheeks"! The bruising isn't as bad as I'd expected initially, although I'm expecting it to get worse before it gets better.

6 hours later, I'm left with some swelling still, some slight numbness in my cheeks, and with some bloody and bruised areas on both cheeks. I look similar to how I looked following the needling, only less bloody and more bruised/swollen. I'm following the nutritional regimen outlined in the pinned thread - not to the letter but most of it, and am also applying amino plex - I'm hoping these will help with the healing.

I'm going to be uploading some photos logging my progress over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and don't hesitate to get in touch with any questions about my procedure - hopefully I'll be able to provide some answers!

All the best,

Paul.

[Rossignol]

Still quite bruised and swollen today, but most of the redness has gone down. I'm hoping that by this time tomorrow most of the swelling will have subsided, as it has been going down quite significantly over the course of the day.

I'm continuing with the regimen of vitamins/supplements (particularly Arnica Montana, Bromelain, and Vit C) and applying amino plex and copper peptides.

Will upload pictures soon hopefully.

[Dazarooni]

Hi Rossignol.

Is Dr Patalay trained in the various acne scarring techniques to the same extent that Dr. Chu is?

From reading various comments on these boards it would appear that subcision along with a filler can significantly improve rolling scars as the tethers that get cut during the subcision do not get a chance to re-attach and the filler keeps the skin close to the normal level that it should be. Does Dr. Patalay offer a filler along with subcision? Did he advise on any other treatment in conjunction with the subcision to maximise the results?

I have some really annoying rolling scars that would benefit from a subcision.

[Rossignol]

Hi Dazarooni,

it's interesting that you ask about Dr Patalay's training. It's been something that's been worrying me a bit since my subcision. Dr Patalay, I think, is essentially a junior doctor working under the consultants in the dermatology dept, who are Dr Chu and Dr Texera (sp?), both of whom are highly experienced and have received recommendations through this forum.

When I went for my subcision, I was under the impression that it would be one of them performing the treatment, and was still under this impression right up until the anaesthetic had been administered. I was thinking that they would perhaps have a junior administer the anaesthetic before they performed the actual treatment. However, having the anaesthetic applied was so unpleasant that I was feeling a little woozy when the treatment started, and so didn't question the fact that Dr Patalay went ahead and performed it.

Now, I'm not suggesting that Dr Patalay isn't highly qualified in the procedure, but I always think it's best to have the most experienced person possible performing treatment that can potentially go wrong, particularly on your face. Dr Patalay, who looks 30 at most, is clearly not as experienced as Drs Chu and Texera (both of whom look about 50), and I am quite annoyed at myself for not piping up and asking to have it done by one of them.

At the moment, there don't look to be any complications from the subcision, and I seem to be healing quite reasonably, but I do think that for my next treatment I am going to request that I see either Dr Chu or Texera. I would just feel more comfortable knowing that they have come recommended.


In response to your questions about fillers, as far as I'm aware the only filler the dermatology dept at the Hammersmith (led by Chu and Texera) offer in conjunction with subcision is Isolagen. Unfortunately, as I'm sure you're aware, Isolagen is extremely expensive, and at around £3000, I just can't afford it. The subcision I'm getting is free on the NHS (hence the probable reason I was operated on by a junior!), but Isolagen isn't available on the NHS at the moment.

I'm hoping to get around 20-30% improvement from this subcision purely through the collagen production, and hope to build on this with subsequent treatments of subcision and needling (I think needling really helped last year, but again, its a monetary issue that is stopping me from getting more at the moment!).

I hope this answers some of your questions anyway, thanks for your interest and good luck with any treatments you decide to undergo.

Paul.

[Dazarooni]

Thanks very much for that thorough reply Rossignol.

I have an appointment with Dr. Chu in 4 and a half months (The waiting list is currently 5 months) and I presume that because I will be seeing him privately, he will be the only person who carries out treatment on me.

I totally understand where you're coming from when you say that you would prefer Dr. Chu or Dr. Texera to perform the subcision as everyone wants to be treated by the best derms/docs around, rather than have someone much less experienced perform it. Like you said, maybe it's because that you are being treated on the NHS that Dr. Patalay performed it.

I know I'll need a subcision or 2 (maybe 3) to give some good improvements on my rolling scars. I know that in Dr. Chu's hands, I will be allowing myself the luxury of being treated by the best. I've read so many good things about him and am really looking forward to seeing him. His prices seem very cheap when compared to others around the UK (for subcision, TCA Cross etc) and that is very heartening.

Good luck with your treatment Rossignol and be sure to keep us updated on your recovery.

[Texan90]

Hey guys, just wondering if subsicision has a chance to make things worse?

[Crocodileman]

Has anybody experiences on needling and severe chest/shoulders/back scars? Does it help?

I have 10 year old acne conglobata scars that are mostly of the "rolling" type, and some "keloid" ones.

I was thinking about trying to go the tattoo parlor route, if I can find someone willing to do it. I have previously tried many sessions of microdermabrasion, but it helped only a bit on the smallest scars.

[God's Son]

Hello all,
Just had subcision 2 days ago. Whole procedure lasted about 40 minutes including local anaesthetic. Still have swelling but am applying a topical antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
Heard alot of the popping sounds of the fibrous bands being cut which is good news and will post again after micro-swelling goes down to assess results.
I was on Accutane for a year 60mg per day which i finished 5 months before having this procedure. Performed on rolling scars on my cheeks (aged a year old or less).
Any questions just ask
Cheers

[mr. matt]

Hello all,
Just had subcision 2 days ago. Whole procedure lasted about 40 minutes including local anaesthetic. Still have swelling but am applying a topical antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
Heard alot of the popping sounds of the fibrous bands being cut which is good news and will post again after micro-swelling goes down to assess results.
I was on Accutane for a year 60mg per day which i finished 5 months before having this procedure. Performed on rolling scars on my cheeks (aged a year old or less).
Any questions just ask
Cheers

Now that it has been a couple of months, can you tell me what affect, if any, the subcision had on your scars? I am going to have the procedure done in one month and I'm curious what I can expect.

Do you have any before and after photos?

[Delane]

Hi Tamara:

Well it is 2010 and I have no idea if you even log on this site anymore. I saw your photo's,and your post. I am 46 years old. I have had dermabrasian by a surgeon in my 20s and CO2 laser in my 30's. I just had a consultation for subcision today. I am going to do it. 2 rounds of it in fact and the another treatment of Fraxel CO2 this time. My skin is much improved already from both other surgerys I have had but I want even more improvement. Thank you for sharing your story with me.

Delane

[Delane]

Hello all,
Just had subcision 2 days ago. Whole procedure lasted about 40 minutes including local anaesthetic. Still have swelling but am applying a topical antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
Heard alot of the popping sounds of the fibrous bands being cut which is good news and will post again after micro-swelling goes down to assess results.
I was on Accutane for a year 60mg per day which i finished 5 months before having this procedure. Performed on rolling scars on my cheeks (aged a year old or less).
Any questions just ask
Cheers

Did you get good results? I am going to do it very soon

Delane

[mr. matt]

Hello all,
Just had subcision 2 days ago. Whole procedure lasted about 40 minutes including local anaesthetic. Still have swelling but am applying a topical antibiotic ointment to prevent infection.
Heard alot of the popping sounds of the fibrous bands being cut which is good news and will post again after micro-swelling goes down to assess results.
I was on Accutane for a year 60mg per day which i finished 5 months before having this procedure. Performed on rolling scars on my cheeks (aged a year old or less).
Any questions just ask
Cheers

Did you get good results? I am going to do it very soon

Delane

Delane:

I don't believe that Tamara still visits this website.

I learned about subcision from visiting acne.org and it has helped to make my acne scarring appear much less pronounced. I had three subcision treatments coupled with TCA CROSS method and had a Pearl Laser treatment as the final "capstone" treatment.

I was inspired from seeing the results from Tamara's photos, but found very little information on the web showing "before and after" photos. Consequently, I documented my experienced in detail and took lots of photos.

If you have tethered scars, subcision is the best treatment in my opinion. It severs the bands that hold down your epidermis and help to generate collagen production helping to minimize the appearance of your scarring.

My skin is far from perfect today, but I have been very pleased with the results. I am no longer ashamed to look at myself in the mirror due to the improvement I've experienced.

Don't expect 100% improvement, but I'm sure that you will see some type of improvement if you can find an experienced and skilled surgeon.

I would encourage you to look at dermarolling and/or laser treatments to also help with the collagen development process.

Best wishes to you on your journey. Attached is a link to my thread:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/Man-Mirro...st-t232731.html

Matt