Hi everyone,

As you can tell by my avatar, Ive had some acne scars for quite some time. I had a big break out when I was around 16, and I have several that look the same on each temple, along with a slight indention on my left cheek. Its my left side, which is my worst that I took the picture of for my avatar. I also had an unrelated brown spot (freckle, mole, whatever you want to call it) on my right side thats bothered me since I was about 9. I seen a dermatologist for these issues starting last year and so far its just been frustrating.

First, finding a dermo around here that would deal with acne scars was a challenge, and Ive managed to find two in the area. The first is where Ive been going since last year. Ive been getting BBL (broadband light) treatments for the brown spot, which have changed it, but Ive had 5 so far and its still there.

The acne scarring hasnt had any treatment, as I was told they are pretty deep, and a laser treatment was the preferred method of my entire face. While this sounded like it might be the way to go, it also made me a bit nervous. In addition, Im on an MAOI inhibitor (a rarely prescribed medication) which makes taking anesthesia difficult. The down time involved in this procedure seems like it would be really difficult as well, given I have a full time job, etc. I was also told it would be likely Id need a second laser treatment (or even more maybe?) of the problem areas. So thats where Im at with the first dermo.

Earlier this week, I went to another for a second opinion. When I mentioned the other dermo, he became very uncomfortable, as apparently hes friends with the other doctor. He even kept making suggestions to suggest to the first dermo, which was frustrating, as I was hoping Id hear some other options. He did mention excision, as he said a few could be done. He offered as a test to do one on each temple, and see how they looked for about $450. This is still a possibility, but obviously Im not sure if it would work and it would not be able to be done on all scars. In fact, he didnt even really make it clear which ones, as he said about 3 on each side. Hes a board certified plastic surgeon, so obviously I had my hopes up. Both dermos are actually very highly rated.

As luck would have it, this requires anesthesia as well, and he uses Lidocaine, which Im unfamiliar with, but I know I cant have Epinephrine, which is optional with Lidocaine. So there are my two options in a nutshell. Am I really out of options besides these or just having awful luck finding a solution? I am hopeful, since I found this web site. There seems to be a lot of information here and I'm looking forward to reading more.