I had cystic acne for about a year. I went on Yaz birth control and within the month my skin was 95% clear. It was miraculous. I was mostly clear for almost 2 years (I still broke out consistently on my chin, but the pimples were small) when I got a cyst on my forehead. My dermatologist said if I wanted to, I could go on accutane to knock my acne out for good. I got off of it 7months ago and have been completely clear since then.

Sorry if you had mentioned it elsewhere but did you have fillers as well or do you intend to?

Hey Kazalea,

Very nice improvement with the subcision! They look better now! 

Anyways, did accutane caused those scars? did you have an initial breakout with accutane?

I didn't have fillers and currently don't intend to. When I first consulted with my derm, he said either get fillers OR multiple subcisions. He said fillers likely won't be necessary after the subcisions, but in my follow up appointment I may ask him about it if I want further improvement, and I know he's open to it.

I never had an initial breakout from anything (topical retinol, birth control, accutane). I was very nervous about one, but it never happened. It just cleared up. And accutane absolutely didn't cause the scars. Cystic acne caused the scars. I was clear of most of my acne but had all of these same scars well before I started accutane. I'm very happy I went on it because it's really changed my skin and given me back a lot of confidence.

This is amazing progress! Thanks for posting pics for reference.I also live in the bay area and will make a note of your doc for when I get subcision in the future.

So it's been 2 weeks since my 2nd subcision. I cannot get over the results! I'm going to wait until week 3 or 4 to post pictures because that's when I saw the best results last time, but I can't get over how much better my skin looks in all kinds of lighting. I keep expecting to look in the mirror and flinch, but every time I'm pleasantly surprised by how much less noticeable the scars are. They've lifted even more, and doing it a second time definitely was worth it and made a big difference. Thanks for all of the support, guys!

I'm glad to hear it. By week 3 or 4 when you do post pictures can you give us a percentage overall (more or less) you believe in how much improvement you got? Do you think suctioning made a big difference besides the 2 subcisions?

Very happy for you OP.

@CelayaIf she suctioned both times I guess it's hard to know how much of a difference it made since she has nothing to compare it with. But if you do subcision you should suction because the side-effects don't seem to be more than prolonged bruising.

The top picture is my before and after from my first subcision. 
The bottom picture shows before any subcisions on the left and 3.5 weeks after my second subcision on the right. 
After both subcisions, I suctioned starting 3 days post op, dermarolled with a 1mm roller after 2 weeks, and used .5 Tazorac every night.
for the longest time I thought improving my acne scars was not an option. I'd seen so many people try for years and spend thousands only to be left disappointed. I'm definitely so happy with my doctor and this procedure. I would say my improvement ranges from 40-75% which I NEVER thought would be possible. 
I think with one more subcision I will be completely satisfied. I don't have the time to take off a week of work for a while, so I may wait 6 months to a year, but some say the collagen keeps growing for that long anyway, so that may be a good thing. 
Thanks for all support! I'll continue to update as I see any changes or have any further procedures.

I think with one more subcision I will be completely satisfied. I don't have the time to take off a week of work for a while, so I may wait 6 months to a year, but some say the collagen keeps growing for that long anyway, so that may be a good thing.

Exactly what I was thinking and about to write as I read your update! Congrats!

Congratulations, you look amazing! I was surprised when you said you marked 40 scars, maybe the pictures don't show all of them.

Can I ask if your scars were tethered?

My dr said they were, but it's hard to know for certain. The ones that I could tell were tethered bc they were around my mouth and puckered when I smiled responded really well to the subcision.

Wow good results This is motivation to give subscion a try. Thank you for this!

Awesome results. I hope it continues to improve for you. It's nice to see some positive posts.

Do you feel there is still a lot of residual swelling ? After all the swelling went away with your 1st subcision, what % improvement did you get?

Swelling is gone. It's gone after about a week. Microswelling may last a little longer. After my first subcision, my dr. said my scars had improved 15-40%. It was definitely worth it to get it done twice. It made a big difference  

came out excellently, the dr did a good job. Well done.

Any updates?

Kazalea, Can i ask one question?
Did your doctor use tangential/ angled lighting to assess all your acne scars?

hey so i just read this post. ive seen it many times but i never actually looked past your first post. what i did notice, and i should have read your post a long time ago, is your doctor is in MOUNTAIN VIEW. i live in san jose, so its a short 20-30 minute drive for me to see him. this might be my solution!!!! if this guy is the real deal that is. kazalea, if you happen to come across my post, please check out my profile. i have a post iwht a bunch of different pics of me. im 21. should i see this guy? i was thinking of dr william ting in san ramon but from what i se he did to you it looks good.

I'm going for my third and hopefully final subcision next month. My dr held had a light directly above my head and tilted my face to mark all of my scars. My scars are better than they originally were, and I know they will never be gone, but I'd like to try for more improvement. I'm going to see what my dr suggests as far as future treatments

On April 2, 2016 at 10:14 AM, Kazalea said:

I'm going for my third and hopefully final subcision next month. My dr held had a light directly above my head and tilted my face to mark all of my scars. My scars are better than they originally were, and I know they will never be gone, but I'd like to try for more improvement. I'm going to see what my dr suggests as far as future treatments

hey i made an appointment wit greg morganroth as well.. hes the dr ur talking about right? hownmuch improvement wouldnu say u got after ur 1st treamteent? 2nd?

Wow really impressive results. Any other tips you have to give I'm looking into getting subcision done myself.

On 201641 at 1:14 PM, Kazalea said:

I'm going for my third and hopefully final subcision next month. My dr held had a light directly above my head and tilted my face to mark all of my scars. My scars are better than they originally were, and I know they will never be gone, but I'd like to try for more improvement. I'm going to see what my dr suggests as far as future treatments

Thanks for the update. It looks like you good results, but I hope it isnt just microswelling.

I guess my best tips are to remember that all of us have different skin that will respond differently to the subcision. I expected bruising and swelling, but I had very little of either; instead, I got a scab at every needle insertion point that left me with hyper pigmentation for about a month. Everyone was saying bruising is good, so I was worried, but the nurse said my results were great. The iPhone pictures aren't perfect depictions because that's only in one light looking almost directly at the scars. It does show the difference in improvement, though, and I wouldn't consider it microswelling. Sometimes I forget how much it's improved because the most unforgiving light and angles will still clearly show all the scars, but in familiar lighting (like my bedroom where I get ready every morning), I remember how deep some of the scars looked when I was doing my makeup before, and now I have a hard time finding some of them. There is definite improvement, and I wouldn't keep paying the money for it if I didn't see it making a big difference. They will never be GONE, and Dr. Morganroth will tell you that, but they can be improved to the point where you don't feel like they need to take over your life. I am open to fillers in the future, as he suggested them before I did any subcisions. Once you get some improvement, you want to go for more - that's just how it goes, I guess.

Hi Kazalea,

Assuming that the last set of photos you posted in this thread are still an accurate representation of how you look now then you've had some truly great results... despite what you might say about lighting and photographs.

I am interested to know if you tried anything else for your scarring prior to plumping for subcision? For all the success stories I have read from people having had subcisions done, I still feel as if it might be too drastic of an action to take in my case, at least not yet. I feel as if I should try skin needling first, for example. Did you try anything like dermarolling or laser treatments beforehand and felt that you weren't getting anywhere?

Incidentally, I agree with what you say about people wanting constant improvement. We all seek improvement, and some people say "I'd settle for x% improvement" yet if they were to actually achieve that goal they would have the tendency to keep going in a bid to achieve total perfection. It is only natural. Anyway, if you haven't allowed yourself to be absolutely delighted with the outcome you've had so far then you should. Congrats!