On 3/22/2021 at 2:59 PM, Tonitrus09 said:I agree with you...but I am not seeing any improvement in my own scars after months of treatments...so I am wondering if filler is sometimes necessary to get a result - ANY result.
Absolutely. Try consulting with a specialist about fillers and getting the procedure done with the mindset of seeing how your scars respond.
I remember I got temporary fillers once (Filler brand was Revanesse?) and I didn™t see the improvement I had expected to make the fillers necessary. I remember specifically looking at my reflection in a tinted car window at an angle and I didn™t see much change and it leaving the notation in my mind that fillers were not my solution to scar improvement. This was my personal assessment.
Perhaps I am optimistically delusional about scars improving more overtime than what fillers can offer in a short time so with that said take my judgments about fillers with a grain of salt.
Overall, I am a major advocate for trying new methods/procedures and seeing how you feel about how it affects your scars. I want you to find what works for you and what your scars respond best to, and that happens with you exploring the methods that are offered. Of course, I would never ever advise for you to get permanent filler because it™s against my personal belief about scar revision as well as permanent fillers for some people tend to have negative side effects that require to be surgically removed years after having it placed or other negative side effects. So if you can leave with one thing from this text post is to try new methods, in this case temporary fillers, and see how you feel it affects the appearance of your scars.
if you see some typos, I™m sorry, I type rather fast and don™t usually revise due to being impatient.
On 2/21/2021 at 12:39 AM, Amanda Hall said:Lim has lots of YouTube followers. It's great that he's providing knowledge to the public, but his followers only get fed the good stuff. Lim is like many doctors in that he only posts his really good results. Most people don't know that he's gotten a number of negative reviews. He does seem to have a bit of an arrogance that is good and bad. He seems like the type who will brag about all of his good results, but will make excuses when his procedures don't work. His reviews bear this out.
Heard Benham's price for TCA Cross and was taken aback. If applying TCA brings him that much money, he doesn't need lasers.....
Rullan jacked his price up manyfold mostly like due to demand. He's good for subcision and Phenol Cross but his place is probably not the place you want to go to for lasers and fillers.
Why is Dr. Rullans practice notthe place you wantto go to for lasers and fillers ? Im curious
I went to see Dr. Ben Benhamat the end of February 2021. If I remember correctly, for subcision, he said *each* cheek/side would be about $1,000. For TCA CROSS,he said each session would be $800 for the entire face. The prices are insane IMO, especially if youre someone who is looking at multiple sessions due to deeper and more severe scarring. His consultation is $200. You do meet withDr. Behnam during the consultation. Some may say he is a bit quick and seems to be in a rush. However, he did answer my questions and was quite friendly and to the point. He didnt try to sell me on any procedures.All prices are in USD, btw.On the other hand Dr. Rullan offers a free both virtual and/or in person consultation. I did both. The consultations arewith Amy Bernal who isvery qualified. If the consultation is virtual, Amy will askyou to provide some photos of your skin in angled lighting. Shell show Dr. Rullan, get his opinion, relay the message back to you, and go over your options, pricing,and answerany questions you may have. I believe the online consultation lasted about 30 minutes.For the in person consult the same applies exceptDr. Rullan will come in toexamine your skin and give you his opinion then and there. I saw Dr. Rullan for maybe 10 minutes but he was quite thorough. I spent maybe an hour to an hour and a half going over things with Amy. Overall, I felt like Amy and Dr. Rullan explainedeverythingto me, answered all of my questions (a LOT of questions),and made me feel at ease. The treatment I was recommended was the Quattro consisting of Phenol CROSS, subcision with filler to avoid retethering, and Erbium laser. They said I would probably only needone session of the Quattro. Depending on how picky (they didnt use this term but idk how else to explain it) I am, maybe I would want a few more sessions ofCROSS. The total for this treatment is $1,999. It is expensive but compared to getting all treatments done separately somewhere else, it is a fair price. Take Dr. Behnam as an example, if you were to geteach side/cheek done, subcision alone would set you back $2,000.Personally, out of the two doctors I mentioned, I would recommend Dr. Rullan because of the experience and the pricing. I was able to set up two free consultations that lasted in total about 2 hours and get all my questions answered very thoroughly.Acne scar revision is going to be expensive no matter what so you want to make sure youre spending yourmoney wisely meaningon the correct treatment(s) for you and with one of the most qualified doctors. Driving 2-ishhours from LA to Chula Vista is worth it to me. I have my treatment scheduled for this Wednesday. Wish me luck!
9 hours ago, PeanutPinatsu said:Why is Dr. Rullans practice notthe place you wantto go to for lasers and fillers ? Im curious
I went to see Dr. Ben Benhamat the end of February 2021. If I remember correctly, for subcision, he said *each* cheek/side would be about $1,000. For TCA CROSS,he said each session would be $800 for the entire face. The prices are insane IMO, especially if youre someone who is looking at multiple sessions due to deeper and more severe scarring. His consultation is $200. You do meet withDr. Behnam during the consultation. Some may say he is a bit quick and seems to be in a rush. However, he did answer my questions and was quite friendly and to the point. He didnt try to sell me on any procedures.All prices are in USD, btw.On the other hand Dr. Rullan offers a free both virtual and/or in person consultation. I did both. The consultations arewith Amy Bernal who isvery qualified. If the consultation is virtual, Amy will askyou to provide some photos of your skin in angled lighting. Shell show Dr. Rullan, get his opinion, relay the message back to you, and go over your options, pricing,and answerany questions you may have. I believe the online consultation lasted about 30 minutes.For the in person consult the same applies exceptDr. Rullan will come in toexamine your skin and give you his opinion then and there. I saw Dr. Rullan for maybe 10 minutes but he was quite thorough. I spent maybe an hour to an hour and a half going over things with Amy. Overall, I felt like Amy and Dr. Rullan explainedeverythingto me, answered all of my questions (a LOT of questions),and made me feel at ease. The treatment I was recommended was the Quattro consisting of Phenol CROSS, subcision with filler to avoid retethering, and Erbium laser. They said I would probably only needone session of the Quattro. Depending on how picky (they didnt use this term but idk how else to explain it) I am, maybe I would want a few more sessions ofCROSS. The total for this treatment is $1,999. It is expensive but compared to getting all treatments done separately somewhere else, it is a fair price. Take Dr. Behnam as an example, if you were to geteach side/cheek done, subcision alone would set you back $2,000.Personally, out of the two doctors I mentioned, I would recommend Dr. Rullan because of the experience and the pricing. I was able to set up two free consultations that lasted in total about 2 hours and get all my questions answered very thoroughly.Acne scar revision is going to be expensive no matter what so you want to make sure youre spending yourmoney wisely meaningon the correct treatment(s) for you and with one of the most qualified doctors. Driving 2-ishhours from LA to Chula Vista is worth it to me. I have my treatment scheduled for this Wednesday. Wish me luck!
He's not known for lasers. Not saying he's bad but people don't go to him for that. I've had laser treatment there and it's nowhere close to aggressive so you are not going to see dramatic results. You'll need to do this a number of times to equal even one fractional CO2 treatment.I don't know about fillers but I'm just saying what other veteran members have said.
Don't know if Benham is good or bad but his costs are ridiculous. He's on YouTube. Not sure if he does anything differently than 90% of other doctors in terms of application. TCA Cross is pretty much dip and dab.
On 4/25/2021 at 1:39 PM, PeanutPinatsu said:Driving 2-ish hours from LA to Chula Vista is worth it to me. I have my treatment scheduled for this Wednesday. Wish me luck!
Best of luck with your treatments!! Keep us posted 
I am also planning on seeing Dr. Rullan this summer so I can't wait to see how it goes for you!
On 2/25/2021 at 1:36 PM, Tonitrus09 said:Do we have a list of preferred providers in the Boston area or in New England? I know a few people who have the right tools and appear to have the expertise as well but the jury's still out RE their results as far as my own experience goes.
For example, there's Dr. Neelam Vashi at BMC. She has pretty much every tool used in scar treatment except the CO2 laser. Also I think her subcision technique is not typical (doesn't mean it's bad, necessarily) - she uses a Dual Bevel 1.0mm angled Sideport Knifeas opposed to a cannula needle. And only topical numbing was used, not injectable lidocaine.
There's also Dr. Shanthala in Peabody who got her MD in anesthesiology but has since got tons of training in cosmetic procedures including acne scar treatment. And she has very happy customers.Reading about her and having had a consult, I think she knows what she's doing. But I haven't started working with her...yet.
I also know of a Fraxel expert in the area. Dr. Rohrer.Unfortunately for me, Fraxel was not helping the appearance of my scars even after 8+ treatments (spread out over about 8 years). But that could just be my skin - it doesn't mean that Fraxel won't work or someone else, necessarily!
Anyone else know of anyone good in MA / New England?
I am bumping this! I would really like to know if there are any recommended dermatologists for acne scar treatment in Virginia, DC, Boston, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or NYC?
This is such a huge population but I have yet to find a popular or highly recommended acne scar dermatology in these states! Its quite baffling!
4 hours ago, Scarredycat said:I am bumping this! I would really like to know if there are any recommended dermatologists for acne scar treatment in Virginia, DC, Boston, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, or NYC?
This is such a huge population but I have yet to find a popular or highly recommended acne scar dermatology in these states! It™s quite baffling!
I agree!! I've now flown all the way from the East Coast to see Dr. Rullan in CA for this exact reason...twice! Just haven't found any good alternatives near me 
22 hours ago, Tonitrus09 said:I agree!! I've now flown all the way from the East Coast to see Dr. Rullan in CA for this exact reason...twice! Just haven't found any good alternatives near me
I™ve been doing some research lately, and I have stumbled on a couple of doctors. Though I™ve heard mixed reviews. Particularly, Dr. Nelson Lee Novick in NYC and Dr. Jeffrey Rappaport in NJ.
Have you heard of them? I don™t think I will be able to fly to CA for treatment and really want something done on this side of the country soon.
13 hours ago, Scarredycat said:Ive been doing some research lately, and I have stumbled on a couple of doctors. Though Ive heard mixed reviews. Particularly, Dr. Nelson Lee Novick in NYC and Dr. Jeffrey Rappaport in NJ.
Have you heard of them? I dont think I will be able to fly to CA for treatment and really want something done on this side of the country soon.
Heard too many negative things about Novick. Search his name on this site. I wouldn't go that route. However there's a guy in FL who has a good reputation - Dr. Weiner. Hope this helps!
On 2/9/2022 at 8:08 PM, Scarredycat said:Ive been doing some research lately, and I have stumbled on a couple of doctors. Though Ive heard mixed reviews. Particularly, Dr. Nelson Lee Novick in NYC and Dr. Jeffrey Rappaport in NJ.
Have you heard of them? I dont think I will be able to fly to CA for treatment and really want something done on this side of the country soon.
Stay FAR away from Novick. I am very unhappy with the filler he used in my face. He made it worse. My "before" pictures look like "after" pictures now.
12 hours ago, Urbanite said:Stay FAR away from Novick. I am very unhappy with the filler he used in my face. He made it worse. My "before" pictures look like "after" pictures now.
I got a bad taste from the replies he gave to his Google maps reviews, constantly referring to his almost 5 star reviews on "RealSelf". Makes me doubt whether that site is any more credible than Google itself.
Anyone know anything about Jeffrey Rappaport in NJ? I see some good recent reviews for him on RealSelf, regarding subcision, RF microneedling, TCA.