Thanks Leo, I will probably get a consultation with him soon. I have some scars that have hard thick tissue and it is indented around this. My derm thinks there might still be inflamation that could go down. However, it's been a good year since it started and probably 6 months that I've had the hard tissue I guess hypertrophic scarring form. I wonder if he would do a laser for spot treatment, even nob-ablative might work to soften the scar tissue. Do you know if he works with lasers? It's sad that my insurance won't cover anything from a derm who knows what he's doing, my military insurance thru my husband has refered me to derms who have not helped a bit. Maybe even helped to cause the scars.
Derek, $4500 for a full face dermabrasion is nothing to what I've been quoted in Portland, OR. It would cost me anywhere from $5500 to $7000 depending on which doctor I chose, so to get it done for $4500 by someone who gets glowing reviews actually seems very reasonable.
I've been lurking the scar forums for almost a year, and this is my first time posting. I had a consultation with Dr. Yarbrough yesterday, and I'm planning to have dermabrasion in December. Lucky for me, I'm from about an hour away from New Orleans, and although I currently live in D.C., my parents still live there. So I just visited the doctor when I went home to see my family, and I'm going to take an extra long Christmas vacation to do the dermabrasion and go home for a visit.
I guess my scarring is mild, mostly boxscars, with a few moderate icepicks concentrated on my front cheeks (like the part facing the front underneath the eyes).
Motivated by posts in these forums, I've purchased and used copper peptides, mandelic acid, and Perfect Complexion TCA Complex, only to realize later that they do nothing for anything but the most superficial scarring. I don't want to spend years and many more dollars trying this and that, so I've decided to just go for it and try to get this problem fixed in one shot.
I also wanted to mention that I've tried TCA CROSS with 100% TCA, and I haven't had the success that others here have. I spot treated all my scars once, then did two more treatments on just a few scars at a time. It looks like it's made 2 of my icepicks a little worse (last treatment over 2 months ago.) I still want to try it again though on my deepest icepicks, because I've seen other people's before and after picks, and they look impressive. I'd like to get them as shallow as possible before my dermabrasion. I'm going to try with the colostrum stuff next time. Wish me luck, as I do to all of you.
Hi, everyone.
Thanks smilingeyes--I do hope you at least leave the door open on this one as I have also been waved off by other docs about dermabrasion as have many of Dr. Y's former patients.
Rosegirl, congrats on making the first step and good luck in that consultation--you won't be disappointed. I agree with you that all of those topicals don't really do much for already existing scars, but I think they can be quite helpful when you are healing up after a procedure, so hang on to them. As far as the cross goes, I'm sorry it hasn't worked for you thus far. I do think it's probably a good idea to get the ice-pick scars squared away before the dermabrasion, as it won't help those scars, but can help smooth everything over after other procedures (punch excision or cross "scars").
Well, it's been a little more that 2.5 weeks and I'm healing up very well. Out of the itchy phase finally and still pretty darned red, but I can now see parts of my forehead returning to it's normal color, while other areas are still quite pink (kind of splotchy effect). I can now go out with make-up on and feel very comfortable (but I still wear a hat to shield myself from the sun).
Best of luck to everyone else out there paying a visit to Dr. Y!
--Leo
Hi, everyone. Well, it's now been 3 weeks (and one day=) since my dermabrasion with Dr. Y and I continue to heal up and continue to be very pleased with my decision to go out there. In fact, I just sent off thank you cards to both Dr. Y and Cassandra today. I am still pretty darned red, though I can conceal it pretty well with make-up. Some areas are fading faster than others and I think that corresponds to how deep he went in different areas. The most recent excision scar is nearly invisivle with make-up on (except for than danged little "dog-ear" mound of skin thart I should have had corrected before going out there. It's common after excision and supposedly really easy to fix, but I just didn't want to tamper with my skin again too close to the dermabrasion. It is still much softer and more subtle, but I just wish I had made the decision to go back to my doc here to resolve it. This is in no way a reflection of Dr. Y's abilities and he gave me an accurate picture of what to expect from it), and my larger, older excision scar seems to flucuate. It's wierd, sometimes it seems almost gone, and at other times it is more visible (though far improved over what it was), and from what I've heard (both from Dr. Y and from former patients), the real collagen build up is still to come. So after all of that, the nutshell is that I am very happy I went out there. This has been, hands down, the best thing I have ever done for my skin, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm thinking that after my skin heals up a bit more, I'd like to get that "dog-ear" excised (small enough to maybe only need a punch excision), and then, if I need it, a spot treatment next summer. But who knows, I may not need it at all.
Anyway, that's my three week update. I hope everyone else traveling out to see him or who has already seen him is doing well and in good spirits.
--leo
I was gonna write a new thread about this but Leopoda did such a wonderful job at explaining it just seems waste of effort to rewrite my experience (plus, i'm lazy 
). I can confirm with what leopoda wrote is all what I have experience.
My History
I had severe case of acne scars. I took Accutane ~4 years ago but it only helped clear what acne I have at that time. It stop my oilness but Im more prone to scarring. My current situation is that I have mostly rolling scars on both cheeks, indents on my forehead, soft rolling scars on the temples, and hypertrophic scars on both jaw lines
I just had a FULL FACE dermabrasion done by Dr. Y on July 13 (Tuesday). I came back July 16 (Friday).
I'm currenly healthing nicely. I see some blothes of new skins here and there and some spots are still red. As of right now, I cant see any indent on my forehead or my right cheek. My left cheek and jaw line are still kind of red so I cant really tell. I will keep updating when the swelling goes down and all the new skin are form.
PS: Leopoda sorry for hijacking your thread but I thought it's appropriate to put it here. I also mentioned you to Dr. Y and Cassandra and they think you are a really nice person. Good luck with you healing. BTW, im in CA.
Heheh. I also saw someone with a mask around noon on Tuesday (July 13) in the cafeteria. Perhaps that was you?
Was that guy short and wearing a a green short? If so, that was me. Cassandra told me there was a patient who is leaving on July 15 (Thursday) that wanted to invite me to breakfast. She also mentioned this is the second time she had performed dermabrasions and she is from Alabama. Was that you?
PS: leopolda, you stayed in my room 759. No wonder it's so tidy when I got there.
Question: anyone know where to buy the face mask they give you when you perform a full face dermabrasion so you can travel from airport to airport?
Moonsoon, Actually I just got there that Thursday, 15th of July, for a consult with Dr. Y. I haven't had a dermabrasion yet, as I am still on Accutane. Yeah, the guy that came in the office on Thurs. the 15th did have a green shirt. Just before you walked in, I also saw a girl, kinda tall, slim, blondish with shorts, come in the office with her mother I guess. She too had a facial dressing mask. She prob. invited you to breakfast.
Moonsoon,
I'm getting a full-face dermabrasion with Dr. Y on August 3rd, I'm just wondering if you are currently taking any progress pictures..? I'm planning on taking it every other day for 2 weeks and then twice a week and then once a week from there on until I see the full results. I know it's only been 6 days but how are you looking now? Is it still hard to eat? Does it still hurt? Was the plane ride back to Cali okay? I'm sorry for asking so many questions but I'm just mighty nervous about this. Thanks in advance.. I hope you heal well! Keep us posted!
Poe
Wow ann_a_bell, I never thought about that.. Yeah, tomorrow would be two weeks to the day that I'm getting it done so ’? better run to the drug store and get me some vitamins. Should I just get a multivitamin? Vitamin E capsules? I don't really know much about which vitamin helps what.. Any suggestions..? Oh yeah, I put up some of my scar pics in the gallery. Do you think I would need just one dermabrasion or two? Thanks so much for that suggestion, I'm hoping for a speedy recovery when I get back.. I'm glad to hear that you're healing so well! Take care!
Poe
Thanks for the warning Emma and forgive my ignorance.. I will be calling Dr. Y's office later on today to see what he would suggest I do.
AHHH!!!! I'm getting really scared now!! Man, I hope I don't freak out when the day comes.. I think I will though cuz I'm the biggest wuss ever.. hehe....
Poe
Yeah Poe, but you probably already knew that you shouldn't take any vit. E or A 2 weeks before the surgery b/c they should have sent you the info and probably told you over the phone.
Anyways, I took vit. C and 50mg Zinc , before hand every day. Right after surgery you can begin taking ANYTHING YOU WANT. I take 1,000 mg of Vit. E, 50 mg Zinc, Grapeseed extract(antioxident), Vit. C (very important for collagen), Vit. A., and Ester-C ( also for collagen support).
I the Zinc and Vit. C are the most important before and after to help with healing and rebuilding new cells.
Howdy Ann_a_bell,
Hmm, nope, I haven't received any package(s) from their office yet. I'll be asking about that as well when I call. 
How are you looking now? Are you able to go out and feel "normal"? Week 3 after my dermabrasion, I will be going to Seattle to visit some friends, so I'm just trying to estimate if I would be able to feel "normal" with makeup on. Again, thanks so much for the vitamin info! I hope I'm not being a pain by asking so many questions.
Poe
Moonsoon,
I'm getting a full-face dermabrasion with Dr. Y on August 3rd, I'm just wondering if you are currently taking any progress pictures..? I'm planning on taking it every other day for 2 weeks and then twice a week and then once a week from there on until I see the full results. I know it's only been 6 days but how are you looking now? Is it still hard to eat? Does it still hurt? Was the plane ride back to Cali okay? I'm sorry for asking so many questions but I'm just mighty nervous about this. Thanks in advance.. I hope you heal well! Keep us posted!
I'm taking a picture once every week for the first month, then one every month, finally, every other months for a year.
Right now, I see 90% of my scars on forehead has improved. I can live with this. You can see some scar but it wasnt as bad as before. The skin tone is still pink but less pronounce then any part of my face. I'm still using the shaving foam to clean the crust and apply the vaseline right after. I still have some crust left on both cheeks, some on the chin, and some around the mouth area. I notice some of the raise scar on my nose has been reduce. Moving posterior and latterally from my forehead, the texture is noticable darker than my forehead. I'm a guy so I have a beard right now. It seems darker in that area too so I cant really tell the improvement.
Eating is not a problem for me NOW. Everysince I got back, my mom has been making porridge for me to eat and I drink lot of juice and water. I can open my mouth wide enough to eat a Big Mac if I wanted to, but I'm gonna keep eating soup, juice, fruit. I remember when I was in the hotel, The easiest thing to eat was prolly mash potato. yogurt, and I also shred turkey and fish up into little pieces. Sometime I had to stare into the mirror so I can make sure the food goes in correctly.
Does it hurt? Never. I think the most painful experience you might encounter is the two shot you get in the rear. Other than that, the once in a while itchiness from the vaselin is what bother me, but I just use a q-tip and gently massage it.
Was the plane ride ok? I thought it wasnt as bad as the to New Orlean. I felt great after a great sleep and dinner. I didnt encounter any problem other than stares which doesnt bother me since I have a mask on and they dont know who I am. I sat a row behind a family with a baby and when she look at my Jason mask, it frightens her. I hid my face of course.
LMK if you have anymore questions. Hope that help.
PS: ann_a_bell, I think I'm gonna start taking supplement now. Thank for the advice.
Hi everyone! Wow, there's been so much activity on this thread in the past few days.
Monsoon, congratulations on your procedure! That's so great--I'm so happy to hear that everything went well for you down there. Please make sure to keep us posted as to what happenes. Oh, and you asked earlier about itching. Yes, it does itch like crazy after about week 2 or something, so I read somewhere that Sarna lotion works well to relieve itching and it does, so maybe try that.
I'm surpised that Dr. Y and Cassandra knew who you were talking about since you don't know my real name (but I guess I am probably the only femael patient from CA having only her forehead done, after all). How nice to hear that they thought I was nice--thanks for that. They really are great people down there and they make you feel like what is actually a big deal, is not that big a deal (if you know what I mean). Glad you liked the room--pretty nice for $40, huh? And no of course I don't mind you posting on this thread--it's all fine with me.
It was the 4-week mark for me yesterday and I can tell you that my redness/pinkness/splotchiness has really improved quite a bit. At this point, there is still a subtle difference b/t the abraded and non-abraded skin, but I can easily conceal it with make-up--if you have the full face and don't have to worry about blending those "border areas," you will be in great shape by week 4.
One thing just to re-emphasize (and warn about) is this: After about a week, when all the bandages come off but you are still swollen, your skin may look exeptionally good--no indentations at all (though I could still detect my deepest scars at that point), but it takes a good 2-3 weeks for all of the swelling to go down (even f you doin't look swollen, there may still be swelling), and at that point, the scars may begin to reappear. Beacuse you are treating scarring in two distinct ways (sanding down surface irregularities and also stimulating collagen from below), try to keep in mind that you will see more immediate results from the surface irregularities, but it takes about 3 months before detectable collagen formation can be noticed and this part of the improvement continues for up to one year. So, if your scars in which there is underlying tissue loss seem to reappear after swelling, don't assume that that was the peak of your improvement, because that is still to come. Even at only 4 weeks, it seems to me that my scars seem to fill in everyday. Also, hydration (both inside with H20 and putside with moisturizers) really help. And, as ann_a_bell mentioned, lots of vit. c and zinc. Also, try to get lots of sleep. Oh and vit. E is an anticoagulant (like aspirin), so that is why it should be avoided before surgery. Here are a few links that I found helpful about what is good and bad to ingest before and after surgery:
http://www.yestheyrefake.net/medication_list_print.htm
http://www.jromano.com/prep/drugs.html
and
http://www.jromano.com/prep/supp.html
As far as pics, I have to admit I haven't been that good about documenting it. Dr. Y took before pics and I haven't taken any since then (though I do plan to go down there next summer for vacation and to have "after" pics taken). I know that I should have done this (both for me but also so that I could share them with the board), but I have some sort of hang-up about that. Taking the pics is really tough for me to do, for some reason. Sorry. but I can tell you that I am most certainly my own worst critic and even I am so pleased! My husband also confirms that there has been a huge improvement (and he was always telling me that my scars were not that bad and that I made a much bigger deal of them than they were).
Poe, it's natual that you'll be nervous (may be a bad sign, in fact, if you weren't), but once you meet Dr. Y and Cassandra, they will put you at ease immediately. Also, the demerol in the rear and the valium under the tongue helps =)
Well, everyone, good luck to everyone is who healing from, preaparing for, or just thinking about dermabrasion!
--leo