76 replies to this topic

[Borec]

Ok so im pretty sure i will go to Nottigham have this procedure done. Its been a long time coming. I guess i was one of the first "experiments" of the ablative co2 laser over 17 years ago. It left me with red patches all over my cheeks (erythema?) that lasted over 3 years. Admittedly it helped smooth out the acne scars.

Update: i decided to have dermabrasion +recell by a doc in. Leeds instead

Edited by Borec, 01 August 2012 - 12:52 PM.

[salma]

Hi Borec
it makes sense to use recell on fully ablated skin

Edited by salma, 13 March 2012 - 04:30 PM.

[Borec]

Edit: i decided to remove this post as some of the information may not be accurate and could incorrectly influence peoples decisions. PM me if you have any questions

Edited by Borec, 13 March 2012 - 12:53 PM.

[tricia]

It is great that you did so much research on your own and saved yourself from a treatment that wouldn't work. I wish a doctor around me in the US did recell, I think dermabrasion plus recell does sound like a very good treatment. I just would only want spot treatment at first to see how I would do. Dermabrasion can have significant complications.

[Borec]

Hi Tricia,
It seems sugeons are willing to use these fully ablative methods now when combined with recell. Without recell the risks would be too high. Like fully ablative Co2 17 years ago took me over 3 years to heal. One cheek more like 10! (probably bad circulation from scar tissue) to heal and runed my pigment.
Most of the doctors i spoke to in the UK have patienrs flying in from all over the world (including myselft). Maybe thats an option for you if money permits.
My credit card is going to get a spanking with flights, hotels and surgery but I have a good feeling about the results. If anything ill at least get some sort of improvement.

[tricia]

Let us know how it goes and include pics if possible! Money is an issue for me right now so I will have to wait till it becomes more affordable and offered in the US.

[Scars4Life]

Co2 Laser And Recell For Hypopigmentation Scars....

Really?

Lol. Doesn't that seem a little extreme..

Good luck though

[shenanigansSG]

Hey Borec,

Good luck! Actually I am also considering this treatment, in Nottingham too (Dr. Maini right?), so I'm really curious to know how this will turn out. Although the earliest I would have this done is in around 1-2 years time. As someone with darker skin (Chinese) I think using recell may be a good option for me.

Just thought I'd add, recell is currently going through a few clinical trials in the US.
clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/results?term=recell

Particularly relevant is no. 2, "A Feasibility Study of the ReCell® Autologous Cell Harvesting Device for Healing of Dermabraded Scars"

It would be great to see how successful recell is when used with fully ablative procedures (in this case dermabrasion).

Anyway keep us updated, and good luck!

-Luke

[Borec]

Ok so I have had dermabrasion and recell 4 days ago in Leeds under general anaesthetic (plus some subcision).
The primary problem that I am trying to fix is the skin texture and white skin scars (hypo pigmentation). Therefore the success of the recall treatment is my primary concern. Second to that is of course my acne scars. These were also dermabraded. The edges of the scars were smoothed in order to make them flatter. The doctor said that I had lots of scar tissue under the bad cheek and that he subcised some of it but there is still a lot more remaining. Ill save that for round 2.

Prior to the treatment i have been taking Vit C,B,Arnica, Zinc, arnica, evening primrose oil, and cod liver oil.
I have also kept myself fit with running, cycling,swimming 3-4 times a week and tried not to expose my skin to the sun.
I have also been off alcohol and don't smoke which I've been told can really affect healing!.

The areas treated ware both my cheeks where i had pigment disorders and scars. The areas were feathered out into undamaged skin in order to blend the bad skin with the good skin. I also had a large bar across my forehead dermabraded. I had cystic acne,chicken pock and rolling scars on my forehead,

Post op, i felt like i had been grazed over my face but there wasn't much pain at all and i didn't bother taking the ibuprofen and paracetemol i was prescribed. I stayed in the hospital the first night and Ive been stuck in a hotel for the last 4 days since, waiting and waiting...

My diet post op has been raw peppers for Vit K, the list of vitamins i posted above, as much fruit as i can eat, lots of protein in the form of eggs and chicken. Anti oxidants like blueberries and tea. No sugar, no garbage basically.

My skin was dermabraded slightly into the dermis, i.e the epidermis was removed and a small bit of the dermis. Where I have acne scars, slightly more. Supposedly after 5 days is the first milestone as the first layers of skin are generated and the recelled cells have already converted into the melanocytes, or whatever they have decided to be . After 2 weeks I should have fully healed and then its a waiting game, up to 18 months, of which the first 12 I need to stay out of the sun.

Today I get the bandages off hopefully. However if there is any resistance with the patches coming off, I have to leave them on a little longer. If the patches are taken off while there is still stuck to my skin then there is a risk that the new skin will be taken off with it. An alternative is to soak the patches in baby oil which I will insist on today if necessary.
I hope they come off as I am very itchy and my hair is unwashed for 5 days :S

I post more after I get the patches off.

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Edited by Borec, 03 April 2012 - 03:00 AM.

[Borec]

Bandages came off 2 days ago. See attached pics.
The cheek with the depressed scar is the redder cheek. The doc went deeper on this cheek to smooth out the acne scars.
The other cheek that has a hypo pigmented patch of skin from the co2 laser is only half as red. So he didn't go as deep on that cheek as there was no "major" scaring issues on that side of my face.

I was told that my skin had healed fast but it is still thin and fragile so I have to clean it a little with saline solution and apply paraffin cream topically.

My first concern is that I can see the hypo pigmentation patch is still visible through the new skin, even after 5 days.
What does this mean? I am not sure.
My understanding is that it is necessary to ablate the skin down to the layer of the melanocytes, i.e below the epidermis and a little into the dermis so shouldn't the skin all be a uniform colour?, considering the good and bad skin were both ablated? Or perhaps the cells from the recell treatment are yet to produce melanin? Hopefully the latter is the case. Anyway it can take up to 18months to see the results.
Or perhaps the white is scar tissue?

The cheek with the depressed scar looks fantastic. Im not sure if thats due to swelling but at the moment it looks quite flat. Bear in mind that I still have juvaderm in there, even after 14-15 months! It it stays like this this would have all been worth it.

I had my forehead done as well but only very lightly. I looks the same as it did before with no major improvement other than removing some sun damaged skin i guess.

The redness is NOTHING like the redness I had with laser. I look like I'm sunburnt thats all. However this may be due to depth of the treatment.

My next appointment is tomorrow so I will raise all of these questions to the Doc when I see him.

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Edited by Borec, 05 May 2012 - 05:02 AM.

[shenanigansSG]

Hey Borec,

Thanks for sharing!

If you don't mind me asking, do you know what your Fitzpatrick skin type is?

Good luck!

-Luke

[Borec]

Hi Luke,
Not sure, somewhere between II and III. I have some polynesian ancestry so have a very slight tint but not a lot.
I believe combining the usage of recell makes many procedures safe® for all skin types.

[shenanigansSG]

Hey Borec,

Thanks. Good luck.

[WinnieTheBlue]

Borec thanks for sharring.

How deep was the dermabrasion, did your face bleed? How ablative was it compared to co2 laser?

Keep us updated for the benefit of all and please post before and after pics. I am going for Recell in september by Dr. Khan believing this is the safest and hopefully the best treatment available.

[Borec]

Hi Winnie,
I had three areas done.
One cheek had/has a large depressed scar. The surgeon dermabraded more in this area in an attempt to smooth it out. Im not sure how much skin was ablated with the laser treatment I had but probably something similar.

The other cheek has no scars, just a patch of hypopigmented skin.
In both cases the scars were dermabraded to at least pinpoint bleeding. As I understand it (based on Avita case studies), this is the appropriate depth to ablate to fix hypopigmentation, slightly into the dermis. The edges of the depressed scar were ablated more in an attempt to smooth out the scarring.
Furthermore, the "good skin" around any scarring was also dermabraded, albeit not as deep. There is prelimiary evidence that cells can migrate into the damaged skin to assist in repigmentation. Still waiting...

My forehead was also lightly dermbraded.

I was under general anaesthic for the procedure so I wasnt aware of anything other that what I was told.
I was initially concerned that he hadnt gone deep enough as after 5-6 days my skin was healed. I expected something like what I had with laser. However, this is recell at its finest.
To be healed after such a treatment (but still red of course) after 5 days is truly amazing. 2 weeks later (i.e now) I look like im slightly sunburnt but no one would have any idea what I have been through.

At this moment in time I feel that if I were to have any treatment done in the future It would have to be combined with recell. If my pigment returns it will be a resounding success but I will have to wait and see.
Also if it is a success I will be buying Avita shares!!.

[Borec]

2 weeks/14 Days post procedure.
The before photos are in other threads so I reposted a picture here (leftcheek-before.jpg) which shows the "bad" cheek in the worse light I would find.

Scarless cheek with hypopigmentation
goodcheek.jpg is the scarless cheek with a hypopigmented patch. In this case I am just waiting for the pigment to return (may take up to 18 months).

Cheek with depressed scar
I made a a few attempts at catching the scarring in bad light. Quite difficult as im taking photos of myself from the side. Ill ask my wife to do it and post some more soon.

There is still pitting, i looks like really superficial pitting(I hope), i.e 1 skin layer deep, however in some photos it looks worse but best to show it in all light sources.

Also bear in mind i still have Juvaderm in there and my skin is blotchy due to laser induced hypopigmentation.

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Edited by Borec, 05 May 2012 - 05:03 AM.

[justmeuk]

Wow!! What a fantastic result. There is such a difference. Is there any swelling at the moment or is that a true result?

[shenanigansSG]

Hey Borec,

It's certainly looking great now! Doesn't look like you've had an invasive procedure like dermabrasion done just 2 weeks ago. I guess it's just a waiting game now, do u have any more follow up appointments with your dr.?

Thanks for sharing, and hope u keep us updated in the next few months when the recell would have time to work!

-Luke

[oopli]

looking good man, thanks for the update.

[WinnieTheBlue]

Huge improvement!

Hi Winnie,
I had three areas done.
One cheek had/has a large depressed scar. The surgeon dermabraded more in this area in an attempt to smooth it out. Im not sure how much skin was ablated with the laser treatment I had but probably something similar.

The other cheek has no scars, just a patch of hypopigmented skin.
In both cases the scars were dermabraded to at least pinpoint bleeding. As I understand it (based on Avita case studies), this is the appropriate depth to ablate to fix hypopigmentation, slightly into the dermis. The edges of the depressed scar were ablated more in an attempt to smooth out the scarring.
Furthermore, the "good skin" around any scarring was also dermabraded, albeit not as deep. There is prelimiary evidence that cells can migrate into the damaged skin to assist in repigmentation. Still waiting...

My forehead was also lightly dermbraded.

I was under general anaesthic for the procedure so I wasnt aware of anything other that what I was told.
I was initially concerned that he hadnt gone deep enough as after 5-6 days my skin was healed. I expected something like what I had with laser. However, this is recell at its finest.
To be healed after such a treatment (but still red of course) after 5 days is truly amazing. 2 weeks later (i.e now) I look like im slightly sunburnt but no one would have any idea what I have been through.

At this moment in time I feel that if I were to have any treatment done in the future It would have to be combined with recell. If my pigment returns it will be a resounding success but I will have to wait and see.
Also if it is a success I will be buying Avita shares!!.

Thanks for this information and sharing picture's!

It is amazing how fast it has healed, and the results look great. 5 days healing time means Recell is doing what it supposed to do and what we hope it would do.

What clinic did you go to? I am booked in with Dr. Khan in September, wondering if I should go with fractional laser or dermabrasion / co2.

I would love to see results on pigment loss, then I could even get rid of the scars on my body in the near future.