16 hours ago, scarredandsad34 said:

Oh please, you are kidding yourself if you think that there will be a cure for scars anytime in our lifetime, if ever. Not trying to be an asshole but that is what I firmly believe.

im looking for a real treatment that I can execute now and get me my life back, not some pipedream that will never come true.

Actually it is not technically a "cure". It requires excision and then the gel is suppose to change the healing environment so it can achieve full regeneration.

So I've been to a few more consultations thisweek. So far, I've mostly been offered microneedling and this would be performed at a plastic surgeons office by a nurse with the pen.

One of the consultations that I had was with a nurse at a medspa/skin institute. She went on and on about how she was a scar specialist, how she used to work at a hospital treating people with third degree burns, and how she's always going to conferences and seminars to learn the latest and greatest techniques. Then, she busts out a photo book full of all of the scars that I've seen on the laser manufacturer websites/pamphlets and claimed that they were her work. Some of them even had the actual doctor's name at the bottom of the picture and she was like, "oh ignore that, I actually treated this patient". How stupid do you think I am, bitch! It was un-fucking believable. She was a pretty smooth talker too. Just like your stereotypical conman.

other than her, the other nurses seemed legit and they were at real plastic surgeon's offices. But, I can't help but think my trauma scar is too severe for microneedling.

i also had a consultation with the derm Dr. Greg Morganroth in Mt. View. A few others on this forum had improvement with him with subcision. But here's the kicker: he proposed another surgical scar revision! He said that my doctor messed up due to poor stitching technique and that his stitching is superior to plastic surgeons because he uses super strong interior stitches so that the scar doesn't spread and it heals to a flat line. I can't help but think this is a line. I know a few others have commented that this doctor is honest but I'm just not buying this. He was nice but seemed very arrogant acting like all of my prior plastic surgeons were incompetentand that this should have been an easy fix.

as an alternative, he recommended one session of fraxel repair and subcision and acted like there were no risks. But fraxel repair looks pretty aggressive and dangerous. Thoughts?

Did your previous scar revision have interior stitches so it would be less likely to pull apart? Maybe the first time the skin had to be pulled a lot to come together and there was too much tension? I wonder if a second time it would be more successful because the margins are already closer together and there might be less tension. Kind of like howfor largescars serial excision is often done a little bit at a time over months instead of all in one go and produces a better end result. Botox to prevent movementand scar is kept taped (pressure) for at least 1 month after to further reduce tension. Realize this would be aterrifying option though and would be starting all over again. Even if it healed into a perfect line the second timemany doctors recommend resurfacing (laser, dermabrasion, chemical peel) or microneedling 2-3 months later before it has maturedinstead of waiting.

Microneedling might still be worth a try. Have you considered doing it yourself. Its actually pretty simple.

4 hours ago, Ommmmmm said:

Did your previous scar revision have interior stitches so it would be less likely to pull apart? Maybe the first time the skin had to be pulled a lot to come together and there was too much tension? I wonder if a second time it would be more successful because the margins are already closer together and there might be less tension. Kind of like howfor largescars serial excision is often done a little bit at a time over months instead of all in one go and produces a better end result. Botox to prevent movementand scar is kept taped (pressure) for at least 1 month after to further reduce tension. Realize this would be aterrifying option though and would be starting all over again. Even if it healed into a perfect line the second timemany doctors recommend resurfacing (laser, dermabrasion, chemical peel) or microneedling 2-3 months later before it has maturedinstead of waiting.

Yeah the first scar revision had internal stitches that were supposed to last 2 months. The scar has stretched out to almost the same width as pre-revision. I had Botox too. But I lost tissue so I don't see how scar revision will work. Besides, I cannot handle it again mentally. And from what I've seen on these forums and realself, scar exicision usually fails.

3 hours ago, QuanHenry said:

Microneedling might still be worth a try. Have you considered doing it yourself. Its actually pretty simple.

It will only cost me $150 per microneedling session for my entire forehead, so I would rather pay a professional to do it.

DidDr. Greg Morganrothshow you before and afters of these two different approaches on trauma scars? Scar revision has the potential to result in a line scar but could also result in similar scarring that you have now or worse. I can't really offer an opinion here either way, you know better than I how your scar responded to theprocedure the first time.

Difficult to say how your scar would respond to subcision or microneedling, most of the info I have read on these procedures is not about treating trauma scars. Both are relatively inexpensive though, and have very few risks so either or bothmay be worth trying.

Did the erbium laser have any effect now that it has been a few months?

8 minutes ago, PCT14 said:

DidDr. Greg Morganrothshow you before and afters of these two different approaches on trauma scars? Scar revision has the potential to result in a line scar but could also result in similar scarring that you have now or worse. I can't really offer an opinion here either way, you know better than I how your scar responded to then procedure the first time.

Difficult to say how your scar would respond to subcision or microneedling, most of the info I have read on these procedures is not about treating trauma scars. Both are relatively inexpensive though, and have very few risks so either or bothmay be worth trying.

Did the erbium laser have any effect now that it has been a few months?

No before and after pics.

My scar responded poorly to the revision surgery. Almost no improvement. Morganroth thinks it's because the ps used the wrong stitching technique. I have a hard time believing this, when I lost muscle, fat, and skin in my originally injury.

Erbium laser did nothing but make my filler worse and the scar more depressed looking.

3 hours ago, scarredandsad34 said:

No before and after pics.

My scar responded poorly to the revision surgery. Almost no improvement. Morganroth thinks it's because the ps used the wrong stitching technique. I have a hard time believing this, when I lost muscle, fat, and skin in my originally injury.

Erbium laser did nothing but make my filler worse and the scar more depressed looking.

I kinda feel like needling would be underwhelming until you made some improvements with other treatment first. If you were to buy a dermastamp and do it at home Id say you have nothing to lose trying it, but at $150 a session you are probably better off putting that money towards different treatments.

Id say give subcision a go, but with your scar it doesnt make a whole lot of sense to only treat the depression of the scar without addressing the actual scar tissue you have. That leaves you with choosing to take a second chance at a treatment you have had poor results from.One other slightly different option, maybe Subcision + Suction followed by laser a month or two after?

You've been to a number of consults now right? Between all of the doctors, which treatment is recommended most?

29 minutes ago, PCT14 said:

I kinda feel like needling would be underwhelming until you made some improvements with other treatment first. If you were to buy a dermastamp and do it at home Id say you have nothing to lose trying it, but at $150 a session you are probably better off putting that money towards different treatments.

Id say give subcision a go, but with your scar it doesnt make a whole lot of sense to only treat the depression of the scar without addressing the actual scar tissue you have. That leaves you with choosing to take a second chance at a treatment you have had poor results from.One other slightly different option, maybe Subcision + Suction followed by laser a month or two after?

You've been to a number of consults now right? Between all of the doctors, which treatment is recommended most?

It's been literally all over the board. Microneedling, surgery, laser, nothing they can do....It seems to be whatever they have in the office.

the microneedling pen is probably the most frequently recommended, when this treatment is offered in the doctors office.

i am so distressed over this. I just want to get it to a point where it is not obvious and that I can live with it. It does not need to be perfect.

i thought needling helped for texture, without the risks of fat loss and burning like a laser?

1 hour ago, scarredandsad34 said:

It's been literally all over the board. Microneedling, surgery, laser, nothing they can do....It seems to be whatever they have in the office.

the microneedling pen is probably the most frequently recommended, when this treatment is offered in the doctors office.

i am so distressed over this. I just want to get it to a point where it is not obvious and that I can live with it. It does not need to be perfect.

i thought needling helped for texture, without the risks of fat loss and burning like a laser?

Microneedling can absolutely improve texture, but as you know it can take a long time to see results. Give it a go, if money is at all an issue perhaps it would also give you the confidence that you could perform it effectively at home as well. I know you've said some doctors say subcision would help and others that it wouldnt, what are your feelings towards this treatment benefitting you?

Needling doesnt use heat like lasers so theres no risk of burning. I think if you did it in office a couple times you would see how easy it actually is, and then you could just follow the same steps at home.

To everyone on this forum, Dr. Greg Morganroth, the California Skin Institute, and Dr. K. Ball are currently undergoing a malpractice lawsuit at the Santa Clara Courthouse. The hearing has been scheduled for March 6, 2018.

I'm not a party to this lawsuit, but I made the mistake to go see Dr. Morganroth at the Mountain View location. He was extremely condescending toward me and gave me asinine responses. He treated his own staff crudely and I posted my experience on Yelp. Soon after, someone (who had just created a Yelp account) contacted me on that site with an obscene message and threats to my safety. I took it as a pathetic attempt to intimidate me, which never works. But arrogant people are usually blinded by their own stupidity and fail to see the obvious.

Anyway, the lawsuit is a public record and easy to verify. I urge everyone on this site to do their homework on Dr. Morganroth and the California Skin Institute before booking an appointment.