1472 replies to this topic

[OursFan]

hello: I think that going from the most invasive procedure to the least makes more sense, therefore most likely:

- subcision
- TCA
- SmoothBeam
- N-Lite

That would be my guess as to most to least invasive.

[hello50]

hello: I think that going from the most invasive procedure to the least makes more sense, therefore most likely:

- subcision
- TCA
- SmoothBeam
- N-Lite

That would be my guess as to most to least invasive.

I see your point, but I guess I communicated wrongly

but i also dont know how bad Stefanies scars are.

Like the guy on the TCA peel
he should of done subcision first
then smoothbeam
and he would of improved like 70% then do a TCA peel finally to get anothe 10%.

[stefany]

The guy on that picture only had one TCA CROSS treatment. In the Korean study, all subjects who were treated with 100% TCA for 6 treatments achieved a 70% or better result. No subcision or N-Lite was performed, just the TCA. I wish I could show everyone the pictures. They are phenomenal. The article costs $19.00 to see from Synergy-Blackwell.

[hello50]

one smooth beam treatment for me yielded 44% improvment...

[imbue]

one smooth beam treatment for me yielded 44% improvment...

Hello

Smoothbeam DOES NOT work on ice pick scars, but thanks for the information about smoothbeam.

[hello50]

r u sure?

[imbue]

r u sure?

Positive that the only tretament for ice pick scarring is excision and the local TCA peel. Smoothbeam and other lasers can only work on very shallow scars or smooth the edges of scars.

[Maya]

Positive that the only tretament for ice pick scarring is excision and the local TCA peel. Smoothbeam and other lasers can only work on very shallow scars or smooth the edges of scars.

Yes, I agree with you. I have the experience of subcision and N-lite (and needling now) - I think that subcision and needling can improve the look of ice picks, but I am getting excision done on them since my doc doesn't do the TCA cross method.

It seems to me that N-Lite and Smoothbeam are similar, N-lite perhaps being the poorer sister, still - they greatly enhance the success of other procedures. N-Lite has certainly plumped out my skin - I think for tose with shallow/rolling scars - the N-lite can seemingly stretch the skin so that the appearance of the scars is much better.

Stefany - great hearing your updates - how are you dealing with the fact that once a month you have several days of scabbing? How do you cater for the work that you do?

[stefany]

Maya:

The majority of my scarring is on my cheeks, so I can hide much of the scabbed areas with my hair----I can style it so that it isn't obvious I am hiding something! Scabs form after 2 days, so I can wear makeup over them. I always have my procedure performed on a Wednesday evening, so my scabs start to form over Thursday and Friday, then I am off work on the weekend. Monday is Day 5 and most of my scabs start falling off on Day 6. I conceal them pretty well, but I am sure they may be a little noticeable. But nobody has said anything yet!

I love this procedure because the healing is so quick and I don't have to take time off work.

[imbue]

Stefany,

My scabs started to fall of about day 7 and continued until day 14. Most of my scabs came off at about day 10.

[stefany]

Imbue:

Yeah my scabs start falling off on day 6, but only continue until about day 8 or 9. I wonder if your treatment was a little deeper? :-k

This last treatment I had was more aggressive. Maybe it will take longer. Or maybe I just heal faster. I apply Bacitracin or Neosporin everyday. What do you use?

[imbue]

Stefany,
You should not moisten your scabs because that is the reason they are coming off so quickly. Having them come off too soon is not a good thing in this case.

[butterfly200]

I am new to this forum - I live in Toronto, Canada and my doctor told me about this new treatment and asked if I wanted to try it and I decided to go ahead with it - but just on around 5 icepick scars on the side of my nose. He said he would do more if we get good results.

I just went in for my second treatment after 1 month.He told me to apply polysporin ointment for 3 to 5 days - then scabs formed and fell off 4 or 5 days later - but the skin remained red - even after one month.I asked him how long it would stay red and he said he didn't know?

Have others who have had this treatment experienced this prolonged redness too? Did your doctors tell you when the redness would fade? I find it hard to see if there is an improvement while my skin is still red?

[stefany]

Imbue,

My doctor disagrees with the theory that you shouldn't moisturize after so many days. He believes keeping a wound dry would only cause more problems.

Butterfly200,

I have redness too, but it usually goes away after 2-3 weeks. Maybe you should be using hydroquinone and Retin-A? I will be starting on that regimen on Day 7.

[Eddy]

Stefany and Butterfly,

I am curious to know whether or not you have seem a marked improvement in your scars since having the TCA spot peel done.

Butterfly,

I am most interested to know more about your experience - for 2 reasons. First I also live in Canada and would go to Toronto if this procedure would help. Secondly the scar that bothers me is an ice pick scar on my nose. Please let me know the name of your Dr. and how I could contact him/her. Also, please let me know if you are happy with the results. Do you still have redness? I had laser and dermabrassion on my nose and the redness persisted for quite some time (3-4 months).

Eddy.

[imbue]

Have others who have had this treatment experienced this prolonged redness too? Did your doctors tell you when the redness would fade? I find it hard to see if there is an improvement while my skin is still red?

Have you completly stayed out of the sun and used a hat with sunblock at all times outdoors? Also the nose heals differntly than other areas of the face, so perhaps you will need an IPL treatment when you are done with the local TCA peel.

[butterfly200]

Eddy

I don't know where you live in Canada - but probably some local dermatologists in your area may know about this. The doctor I went to is Dr. Howard Bargman - he is the head of the laser department at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto (416-493-0606). He has only tried this on 4 or 5 patients so far, but he said he was impressed with the results reported in a medical article he read. He charged me $150 each time.
Because of the redness, I can't really tell if there has been improvement yet - after the second treatment, he told me not to come back for 8 weeks so hopefully by then I'll be able to tell.

Stefany

When you mentioned hydroquinone and Retin-A for redness, I was wondering if these might help me with another problem I have. I had dermabrasion done quite a few years ago and always kept out of the sun - but stupidly I got careless and got my skin sunburned last summer.
Now I have a real difference in the pigmentation of my skin - the dermabraded skin is alot whiter then the rest and this makes my scarring so much more noticeable. I thought this would go away with time but even after a year there is still quite a contrast in pigmentation. Before this I never even used to use makeup and noone gave me a second look , but
now even with makeup I get looks from people which makes me realize how more noticeable it is than before. Do you think hydroquinone and Retin-A would help lighten the darker pigmented areas - I am also wondering if IPL treatments might help.

Has anyone else with dermabraded skin had this problem?

[Eddy]

Butterfly,

Thank you for providing the information. I live in Montreal - traveling to Toronto is not a problem. I have an appointment with my derm tomorrow. I am really hoping he will be able to help me. I have this scar on my nose that really controls my life. I have already had the scar punchgrafted, followed by laser surgery. Then had the area dermabraded and finally last november I went to another Dr. who excised the scar. After all that I still don't like the scar. Actually, I think the scar looks worse than it did before I started all this - maybe not but my self esteem is lower than it was before I started all this. I keep searching for something that will make my scar less noticeable. Maybe subcision? Maybe needling? or maybe CROSS is the answer? The search continues....

Eddy.

[stefany]

Butterfly:

Retin-A and 4% hydroquinone are a powerful combination in getting rid of hyperpigmentation. I would try it if I were you. Let us know if you decide to try it.

[butterfly200]

Eddy

I know exactly how you feel - I also had some scars excised and ended up with scars that looked worse than the original - I was devastated and it really affected my self esteem. Luckily I had a few dermabrasions done afterwards that helped quite a bit. Unfortunately now I have the pigmentation problems to bug me. I tell people I know how bad my scars make me feel but they always make light of it and say I make too much of it. People who have not experienced the psychological effects of acne as well as the resultant scarring just don't understand how it effects the way you feel about yourself and also your ability to socialize - it has been many years that I have been dealing with skin problems and it still bothers me soooo much. I hope the TCA Cross will help all of us!
There should be some doctor in Montreal who knows about it. Good Luck!

Stefany

Thanks so much for the info - I will ask my derm about it. Maybe some kind of face peel might help too.

Dealing with skin problems really does seem like an endless quest sometimes!