any one please!!
is subdermal fat graft permenant? ""IT IS TAKING PEICES BEHIND THE EAR AND REPLACE TO THE SCAR""
anybody has done it before ?
what is your percentage of improvment ?
How much this procedure cost??
thansk..
The results are permanent. I did my last round a little over than year back and results still hold.
It can't be done on all scars and they need to have certain depth/width ( maybe shape also ) to be a good candidate for the procedure. Improvement can be as high as 95%....provided doctor is skilled as it is an intricate procedure. It's not an expensive procedure ( compared to other invasive procedures like dermabrasion and laser ). Cost depends on how many scars are treated. I never paid more than 600 $ per round.
Hi Rupert,
I tend to think, if rolling scar is big enough, it can be filled with a dermal graft.
Feel free to ask anything specific question that you may have.
Otherwise, there was a thread started by Nikki(Loive) sometime back, where I posted in detail about my experience.
COOLBREEZE22
Thanks for ur reply..
I have one small chicken pox tended scar in my forhead, which i want to fix,
i tried fillings such as subcision and ryslane but didn't help much for this scar .. so i asked my surgon for permenant one and can be done at one time with good result, so he suggested to do "SUBDERMAL FAT GRAFT" and he said the result can be see immediatly or after the 7 days of recovery...
1) The surgon asked for $680 for this(ONE TEND SCAR ONLY) do u think its worth it ???
2) Is he right about the immediate result or after 7 days of recovery? was your result immediate or it took alot of time to heels up??
I know its too much(($680) but i want to do anything for this %95 improvement you had:)
please let me know what you think...
Thanks alot ..
COOLBREEZE22
Thanks for ur reply..
I have one small chicken pox tended scar in my forhead, which i want to fix,
i tried fillings such as subcision and ryslane but didn't help much for this scar .. so i asked my surgon for permenant one and can be done at one time with good result, so he suggested to do "SUBDERMAL FAT GRAFT" and he said the result can be see immediatly or after the 7 days of recovery...
1) The surgon asked for $680 for this(ONE TEND SCAR ONLY) do u think its worth it ???
2) Is he right about the immediate result or after 7 days of recovery? was your result immediate or it took alot of time to heels up??
I know its too much(($680) but i want to do anything for this %95 improvement you had:)
please let me know what you think...
Thanks alot ..
Noona,
1) Fees for dermal graft vary widely from doctor to doctor but frankly $680 for one scar seems on a high side. Just to give you idea, I paid in two digits per scar and a flat fee for surgery. And per round I filled some 10-12 scars but maybe, they were smaller compared to your scar ? I also tend to think, shape of the scar matters and would decide how difficult it is to fill. Maybe, look for other doctors in your area who does the same procedure and what their rates are. On the contrary, if this doctor is really skilled and you feel comfortable, it might be worth it as results are likely to be good.
2) This is what happens after the procedure : filled scar looks like a red and raised lump initially and is covered with small band-aid like strip. After 4-5 days, strip comes off on its own. It heals normally in a week but still takes 4-6 weeks for it go down and completely blend with the surrounding skin. Normally, doctor overfills it slightly as it gets slightly absorbed. If it gets absorbed more than expected, it can be refilled after 6 weeks. If it remains lumpy, can be drained or injected with cortisone. It's just judgement of the doctor.
Also, sometimes, after 6 weeks, filled scar still has different color but given time and using a bleach, it gets eventually blended with the surronding skin.
Hard downtime is actually none, if you can go out without feeling conscious of the band aid. Once it comes off, it can be easily concealed using makeup.
3) Success depends on how skilled the doctor is.
I wish you good luck in whatever you decide.
Hey coolbreeze22, i have some questions regarding sub dermal graft. I know you've mentioned that success depends on the surgeon (which i agree with), has your scars improved at least 80%? And you've also mentioned that the surgeon would remove some skin from behind the ear, what if you want to work on 15+ scars, would there still be enough skin to replace? Also, does this type of procedure work on different shaped (shapes= triangular, rectangular, and circular) icepicks?? And finally, where can i find a good surgeon in California that performs this procedure (Anyone????) Thanx Coolbreeze22 for your experienced knowledge. Now as far as my needling progress i'll post my updates in the "truth behind needling thread"
Hey coolbreez22
I checked with one dr. here in my area , he didn't recommend me to do anything with this scar after the fillings, i don't know why!!, maybe because he is not experts with acne scars, he does noise job and other stuff..
I don't know if i wanna pay for more consultations fee , for these stupid drs here in my area that are not experts with acne scars... So i checked with one Dr. outside my country which i will travel to this summer for a vecation .. i emailed him my picture, and he recommended this procedure for $680... I don't know am still hesitating...
who did your procedure?? what was ur DR. name ? if u have his/her website that will be great...
thanks alot coolbreeze for sharing your experience with us:)
hey noona which country were U thinking about having it done in?
Most acne scarring looks bad due to idents which is due to the destruction of the dermis. Given the lack of real filling success with many acne scar procedures, then a sub dermal graft seems like the most obvious way to correct an acne scar identation. In this day and age, something as basic as an acne scar indentation really should be able to be filled like 80%. I think there are a lot of dimwitted doctors out there.
I too am curious as to how it works if you are saying getting 10 scars done? where will the dermis come from? does it have to be from behind the ear?
Hello Rubert..
please checkout this website, especially before and after pictures... http://www.skinlaserdubai.com/
I emailed him his regard the price, and he said the $680 for one or more scars...
I guess the most commen place is the is taken a small peice behind the ear and replace to the scar..
I might do this at the end of this month or somtimes in August...
I will keep you posted
Good luck
Noona, Rupert, BuddhistPunkDrifter :
This is the thread that has video explaining dermal grafting.
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php...5entry1138605
There are a few reasons why area behind the ear is chosen as donor site :
1) It doesn't have hair follicle. This is especially important for women 
2) Skin there is comparatively unexposed ( to enviroment ) and intact, and being closer to the face, has similar structure ( thickness of different sub layers : stratum corneum, epidermis, dermis etc. ).
3) If mark / scar is formed behind the ear when donor site wound heals, it is not that much of a problem as that area is not visible. This doesn't normally happen but donor site wound is pretty deep so as to reach dermis.
This is how grafts are extracted :
Around 3-4 inch area behind the ear is deep dermabraded. Dermis which looks like bloody semi-solid liquid is collected in a test tube. This can normally make more than 15 medium size grafts. Unless scars are pretty deep and large in no., this is sufficient. Otherwise, I guess, doctor would cut larger area behind the ear or would cut behind both ears. Grafts are planted in pockets made in each scar where they grow and eventually fill the scar.
After 3 rounds last year, most of my scars were filled 95 % but as I said, success of this depends on the skill of the doctor. Also, how much ever skilled doctor is, there always remains some uneveness : over or underfilling. Normally, to even that out, some resurfacing procedure such as sport dermabrasion, a series of microderms or laser is recommended. I did Fraxel this year and all my grafts are perfectly blended with all shallow indentations ( left by grafts ) filled. Of course, 100 % perfection is not possible but it is perfect for all practical puposes.
This procedure is ideally suitable for clean box scars and bigger rolling scars. For ice picks, they are first punched and then grafted but I have not done that. There are other procedures for ice picks such as excision and floats. Am not sure, punch grafting is an optimal way.
Rupert : yes, this procedure does make sense. It's like plugging holes in the wall and then sand papering.
Noona, BuddhistPunkDrifter : I have PMed you details of the doctor : website and his background.
Rupert : I think, I have already sent you details some time back.
I would have posted his details here but just that, I haven't asked him if it is okay to post information about him or his practice on a public forum like this. So, sending PM.
If you decide to do it, I would suggest that you test it with 3-4 scars preferrably on the side of the face so you would get first hand experience of it before trying all out. It's not a very expensive procedure and test round should not cost more than 200-300 $
Noona, as you have only 1 scar, this will not be applicable to you.
Hope this helps.
Hi coolbreeze,
thanks so much for posting all that detailed info. I'm sure we are all grateful 
Yeah you did PM me the details of your surgeon a while back. I had another look the other night. You are the only person I know who has had sub dermal graft. Did U know anybody who had used your doc before you? Not too conveneint for me cos I live in England, UK. Surely there are surgeons who do this in UK. I will have to find out. I hate using somebody though who doesn't come recommended by at least one person. You are on real dodgy territory then. 
I wonder why this procedure isn't more common? When U do a search on google, there really isn't that much information. When you consider how hopeless so many scar procedures are - I'm thinking synthetic fillers, then doing the obvious thing in remeoving dermis from elsewhere and put it where U want it, makes a lot of sense.
