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@SibelHi there, yours is a complicated case. I can tell it's causing you mental anguish. Perhaps a therapist or support would be good because that makes up 50% of acne scar suffers pain.
I can address the scars.
First impression because of age and fat loss, ... you need volume. That means Sculptra throughout the cheeks, and volumized HA filler on top, to pull everything up. See the Face Lift recent post on here to see a picture of fat loss and Sculptra. I know Chu does not do this. So get that done after by someone else.
A facelift may be necessary (age related loss) as you have laxity of the skin, but filler can help a lot with the fat deficiency of the cheeks.
Laser will be needed to resurface and stimulate the skin, it works in conjunction of filler and subcision . I know chu does not do this so down the line.
Forehead's are the toughest to treat. They don't have much fat, arteries and veins everywhere, lots of muscle, and get some percentage of improvement. Botox is necessary in your case to soft then lines and scars (muscle contraction), They can use the botox needle to subcise the scars a bit. PRP have been effective here with micron needling or stamping by Chu....
Filler can be injected by a very trained injector as this is a danger area. Angles CO2 laser could be used on the boxcar borders.
Finally you finish off with multiple tca peels, or fully ablative erbium resurfacing for age related damage and acne scar texture.
Treat as you have time and money, everything is optional, some treat over 3 years, 3 months between treatments is optimal as we heal slowly, subcision is most effective for many with pits.
Your biggest issue is volume loss (fillers) and or a face lift, this will fix a lot of the issues. They could even fix the forehead - brow lift during the lift and use fillers, this may be the cheapest alternative, as Chu will not give you massive results your looking for. We are fighting aging damage, and fat loss, with acne scars.
BA
BA thank you.I have already booked Pr.Chu in November so I will try subcision with him. I hope that the main individual scars on the cheeks could be improved with it. The forehead is the worst, at least I can cover it with the fringe.
Yes aging and the volume lost( I thought that fat grafting would help with volume but no( I I did fat because I thought it was my natural material so it would be better then ha filler
Lasers are not the option, as I said waiste of time and money.
The main point how to lift the bottom of the scar. Sub plus filler or to cut out and make a new linear longer scar. For volume to inject fillers which is temporal so to repeat lol he time.
I have seen therapist in times of severe acne.. roaccutane was my best therapist.
I lived with scars all these years not the best but it is after 40 when the scars really started to hit me and because I believed in lasers so much and zero in the end.
very depressiung thread, i have also had backlash from lasers
do you have any before after photos from the needling damage? i thought needling was very safe and was booked in to do it in 2 weeks and this makes me very nervous
the actual scarring doesnt look too severe in depth, i guess you have poor healing and loss of fat but hopefully the prp can help with the healing process
Thank you BA again. Yes I read facelift post and the difference with fillers is obvious. I understand that as soon as I start doing fillers it is for the rest of my life.
I start with Pr.Chu, I would like to hear his opinion.
I am on the point where if the main 3 scars on the left cheek could be improved and face volumized I would be happy. Exosted with lasers, lying doctors and $.
it is mental pressure, lost time of my life due to disease, many days spent indoors and looking for cure instead of living, lost opportunities. Spending all resources trying to find the solution but nowhere in the end at 45.
@SibelThat is a sensible plan. See the improvement you can get from Chu/ Emil. Perhaps you will be happy without a face lift. I do know I see aging (laxity) and this is where a facelift shines. Sadly I do not know any plastics I would overly recommend in the EU. Several people travel as it's more expensive there. You can seasrch realself.com for reviews, ... local language based forums that talk about aesthetics and procedures. Youtube and search for facelift and the country. Look at their website and the pics. I would get a few consults with the plastic suergons, even if you have to pay. Go with whom your comfortable with. I know Eastern Europe procedures are popular to travel to.
Infini rf is microneedling, ... while this may help some, ... it will not fix your issue which is volume loss and laxity. Subcision and filler is needed most. Worry about texture after that. You can peel or laser with Chu, Emil... Emil has a Erbium.
The RF needling as I mentioned above would help most with the forehead and co2 laser which could be angles to the scars border to soften them. Emil may use a Erbium laser. Botox is absolutely necessary and some subcisions here.
On 6/6/2018 at 5:57 PM, BeneficMosque said:Hey everyone,
I had my appointment today with professor Chu. He is a lovely and caring doctor. He told me I have a mixture of rolling and boxcar scars which are on my cheeks the right cheek being worse. I will have dermapen, subcision and tca cross done at the end of the month. Feel excited to start this journey of improving my scars which have held me back so much. Thanks to the suppport of you all. I will keep you posted of my journey!
Currently using retinol 1% at night and vitamin c in the morning with plenty of sunscreen. Eating lots of fruit, veg and protein to help my body build collagen hoping this will help my recovery.
Hi BeneficMosque, May I ask that did you see Prof Tony Chu at West London Dermatology?
Regarding subcision, was local anesthesia applied to the point of entry?
@Sibel You do not just have atrophic scars, you have aging, bone and collagen loss, box cars and rollings scars.
This is not true, each treatment does bring results, ... I don't know where you got that? It depends how you heal, the treatments you do, ... your needs based on your scars, and your practitioner. If you have unrealistic expectations of perfect glass smooth skin that is not a good mental space to be in. I say with all treatments, healing treatment over time expect 50% improvement.
You may be happy with just a increase in volume (filler and extensive subcision), see the video below, see the major difference from major volume - filler. I see you needing several vials of sculptra and something like Voluma. RF needling, ...Laser or a deep peel at the end.
Scars are on a 3-d plane, ... so yes you do have to raise them before doing surface treatments for texture. But is is of course way more complicated than that .
What is your biggest concern in this pic you provided. I see several things but I need to know what most bugs you.
Hi Sibel. I think your major issue is you do not have enough volume (AKA Filler). Many buy a syringe or 2, ... in your case you need lots of volume to help deal with sagging and aging. Perhaps a facelift would help as you say sagging and if you stretch your skin to the temples and jowels you can see how it looks with a facelift. Filler can correct a lot of this but it may not be enough. to give you what you want, just a thought.
I think you need both Sculptra several vials and HA filler if you do go that road first. IF you would rather you can facelift (highest cost) but longer lasting improvement and then consider filler if needed. Either route is fine. Consult with a few plastic surgeon's and see what they say. I know some in the states which are on the list but Europe is much more expensive. Many travel to Eastern Europe for cheaper treatments.
Fat grafting only lasts about 2 years, also many need many more mls of fat. I have never seen them do extensive subcision with fat grafting, ... the needle is to big.
IF you heal poorly I would not do to many energy device procedures. I would do more manual things like lots of filler, subcision, tca.
BA
I went to Chu yesterday. I was in the waiting room when the nurse came and invited me to put Elma on. I said I was supposed to have the consultation first as it was agreed in prior emails with the secretary. It turned to be that it was procedure day not the consultations. Pr.Chu anyway came to see me, was quick, because there were many patients, said all the scars have to be subcised, that I have mostly rolling scars with the boxcars mixtures when I always thought that I had boxcars. About fillers- all fillers dissolves so no need. Just sub on itself..Dermapen concerns -said that it is necessary to do the whole face 2-1,5 mm, I showed the lines and mentioned Derminator, he said he used FNS Dermapen for a long times and would not advise to do mng at home..about tcaconcerns agreed to do the forehead only, one scar on the cheek, also advised pdo threads.
The waiting time with Elma was more then 2 h,nurse Kate took the blood for prp. She was very nice and accommodating. First prp was put with the tiny injections, then dermapen performed pushing quite hard, then Sub, high was very painful and I asked for extra anastetic twice. Tca cross was done 90%, to wash after 10-15 seconds as soon as the white frost appears,threads on the forehead,From diff angles, to make like underlying fence to keep all up. I expected the threads to be put in the cheeks as well but Pr said next time. So forehead prp/mng/sub/tcac/pdo and the cheeks prp/mng/sub/tcac 1 scar.
All swollen today, took pics, to be ownest I expected more lifting ofthe scars. The edges are the same.
