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Ok so let's see if I can make the photo attachment work...
The first photo is a before shot taking with my analog camera and the other two after shots taking with my digital. The light is a little bit different but I think you can see the BIG improvement. I still have a small hypopigmentation after the laser I had several years ago (big mistake - no laser can improve an ice-pick scar).
I'm 100% satisfied with my excison!!
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You look great!!! You give me hope for my ice picks... I'm going for the excision and CO2 soon.
..your excision area looks Nice! and am so happy for you!!!.. 
Thank you guys! I'm just glad if I can help 
Simply_Me,
I don't remember when the after pics were taken but I saw a big improvement after only one week (after the stiches were gone).
crzyakta,
I only had one excision because I only had one ice pick. They charged about $200-250 (depending on the exchange rate).
Since it was a couple of years ago I have forgotten some details but they are all in this thread.
I know this is a very long one but take your time to read it through because there's a lot of good info here.
I've been tracking this topic for quite a while now and wants to share my experience with excision for people considering the procedure. I have about 4 or 5 shallow/small scars on each cheek and 4 small ones on my forehead from acne and childhood chickenpox. Over the years, they've blended in with my skin and because they match in color they're not noticeable to anyone but me. I had the biggest one excised about 3 weeks ago because my derm said that was the only one she could see. It's been two weeks now since I had the stiches removed and the area is still reddish pink. The area is still slightly indented (if your derm tells you it will leave a fine line "level" with your skin, it is complete bullshit unless your scar is quite small in diameter and even then it's not a sure thing cause they excise an area larger than your scar to completely remove it), definitely a lot more shallow but WIDER than the original scar. The weird thing is that my skin around the scar seems to be swollen, but not the scar itself. It is kind of hard to gauge the success level since I can't really tell with the redness. I have my ups and downs, I guess. Some days I'll look at it and be like..."hey, once the redness goes away it should look pretty nice." And some days, I'll be like..."wtf did I do? It looks worse than before." But I've read many many times in this post that the scar keeps improving over a period of 3-4 months so you can't predict the final result until then. I'll definitely keep you guys posted on my results/improvements though.
Oh and question to people who have had excision. How long should I wait until using tazorac on the excised area (since it's supposed to boost collagen production and all)? So far I've just been using super CP serum. Thanks a lot
Best of luck to you, sweetie. I've never had a scar excised, but I did have an area the size of a quarter cut out from my chin area, with 7 stitches below and 8 on top - since I had no choice in the matter, I didn't kick myself during the healing process that this may have been a dumb move on my part & now, quite literally, YOU CANNOT SEE ANYTHING! After 6 months the "white line" was gone as well. Just give yourself time. I believe I started using RetinA about 3 weeks after the stitches came out; don't know if this is a good idea but it sure worked for me! I wonder if the super cp serum is irritating the wound? super cp has acid in it. Could you try using pure, organic vitamin E oil for a few days and see if the redness subsides? RetinA and Tazorac are less irritating to my skin than cp's, but everyone is different. For heaven's sake - DO NOT USE BOTH AT THE SAME TIME FOR A WHILE!
Can Punch excision or related scar treatment be done on dark skinned people?
Best of luck to you, sweetie. I've never had a scar excised, but I did have an area the size of a quarter cut out from my chin area, with 7 stitches below and 8 on top - since I had no choice in the matter, I didn't kick myself during the healing process that this may have been a dumb move on my part & now, quite literally, YOU CANNOT SEE ANYTHING! After 6 months the "white line" was gone as well. Just give yourself time. I believe I started using RetinA about 3 weeks after the stitches came out; don't know if this is a good idea but it sure worked for me! I wonder if the super cp serum is irritating the wound? super cp has acid in it. Could you try using pure, organic vitamin E oil for a few days and see if the redness subsides? RetinA and Tazorac are less irritating to my skin than cp's, but everyone is different. For heaven's sake - DO NOT USE BOTH AT THE SAME TIME FOR A WHILE!
Butterflies, did the wound area appear depressed in the beginning? I wonder if my skin will level itself out eventually because the indentation is rather shallow...mainly it looks sunken in because the surrounding area is swollen. Yea, I wasn't sure about the cp, except I've heard the newer your scar the better it'll respond to it...didn't occur to me that it might be irritating.
I just used vitamin E for 2-3 weeks after the stitches came out b/c that's what my doctor said to do. I didn't know about cp's at the time. Yes, the scar was slightly, very slightly, indented & you could see the "railroad track" where the stitches were - it was reddish. Again, this all faded over time to almost nothing. I really don't think the surrounding area should be irritated, it could effect the healing, so PLEASE try to make the swelling go down a bit before using copper peptides and retinoids. Just TRY the vitamin E for 3 or 4 days and see what happens. cps and retinoids DO promote collagen production, but you shouldn't aggravate a new surgical wound.
ylem - why can't you have excision? It looked to me like your scars would lend themselves well to this type of procedure. you're in my prayers - I know you'll find the right treatment and the healing, psychologically and physically, will kick in full force! I believe this with all my heart.
My scars are too large for the excision. I would run into a situation where if the scar were to be excised the skin would be too taut when joining the edges togther for suturing. From what I;ve reserached it seems to me that this would lead to an even larger scar.
Thanks bitterfiles!! My consult is Wednesday w/ Dr Turner in CO spgs, but there is another who perfdorms excisions here, well known as a matter of fact, but someone on here posted a disastrous experience about a totally botched excision he performed so now I'm scared to go. His name is Swineheart, jAMES MD
Oh My God! AVOID SWINEHEART LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't dare to even darken his door! He's screwed up numerous people on just about every single procedure - I don't think I've heard of him EVER doing anything right & all of his patients are far worse for the wear & then he behaves like a total prick, refusing to take responsibility and blaming his victims for their new disfigurement he's inflicted on them. He sounds downright sick in the head to me....BEWARE!
So...I have a few icepcick scars on my cheek. manybe 2-4 mm/ each. So he though I should have two of them improved with a punch excision. I'm worried that the new scar will be wide...like the stitch won't hold and it will stretch and leave me with a scar that is wider and longer than my little holes. Anyone have any experience with this? please help? i'm so unsure?
4 weeks update on my excision:
The area is still swollen (my doctor said it should level out or I can come back for a cortisone shot, but I don't really scar hypertrophically), which I've been told by Shyana in the first month the wound gets thicker due to normal tissue growth. As the redness is fading a little bit, I can now see the fine line and the surrounding holes caused by the threads. The slight indentation is still there but it MIGHT look level if the swelling around the scar goes down. Honestly, I can't say that this is an improvement since it looks like I've got a large shallow groove with a line running across it...not to mention the discoloration. I'm no longer applying anything to the wound to let the body do its job healing (but I am taking MSM, vitamin C, and biotin supplements). I wish I could go back in time about 5 weeks ago, I would have just left my face alone and not do anything to it. The messed up part is that I got excision done around the same time I fell for an older guy, and even though he was quite attracted to me I felt like these "imperfections" needed to be removed to make myself more attractive in his eyes. So much for that because if anything, I made things worse and it's taking it's toll on my soul and self-esteem. I've been praying and praying yet feeling hopeless all the time. I know that the scar is still healing and remodeling, but at this point I am so pessimistic and I really can't imagine it getting any better. Sorry for getting all emo towards the end, but I figure a lot of people here would understand how I feel. You go to the derm hoping to improve your appearance and after investing time, energy, and money you look worse than before. How funny that just a month ago I couldn't be happy with my minor scarring, and now I would give anything to wake up and look like myself again. "I know God wouldn't give me more than I can handle, but I sometimes wish He didn't trust me so much."
Haha funny how I posted a wjile back in this thread as not being a a candidate for this. I just got back from a consult with a derm surgeon in Boulder, CO. His name is Richard Levine, MD. FINALLY, I mustered the time to go to a consult. Now, I have to muster the time to get 9 excisions done on my temples as a preliminary step to my LONG journey. He is charging 750 for these 9 excisions. He uses a "cookie-cutter" type scalpel and has a special topical glue he uses to keep a residual scar from forming, it just makes a "white line" as u called it Butterflies, and they use this for breast augmentation surgery too. Maybe that is what keeps it from looking deperessed, I dunno. I am taking a crap shot at this one. The scars treated with the excisions should turn out nicely, but I was not recommended excisions on the other areas. I may go for subcisions w/fat transfer, but this was not recommended to me as the cost is high AND he claims the subcisions don't work unless the subcised area is filled up with something. He would use my fat from my gut lol. He would centrifuge it to remove proteases and carbs and isolate just the stem cells and then it would be injected into the subcised areas. This I will have done later, but the excisions are coming up in the next few weeks. I suppose 750 on a credit card is manageable. I will be surprised to see this work. He also claims he can get a smooth surface to my skin. That's the real ticker and I know he is bsing but he makes me feel comfortable and I like the rapport we had. He was serious, but friendly. That's what matters to me.
I am still a firm believer that nothing will make acne scars unnoticeable, but we will see if my pessimism (or realism) proves me wrong.
Did some basic reserach on this guy and he looks good. Board certified in dermatology and no disciplinary actions against him. Asked about how many cosmetic procedures like this he has performed and he said quite a few. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD LOOK FOR BEFORE I GO UNDER THE KNIFE??
Oh, and we are gonna do be4 and afters so I WILL post. I will leave no room for question. U r right Butterflies!! U diagnosed me correctly LOL!! Well done!
Wonder why Yarborough never recommended this to me!? I guess every surgwon is diffferent and I always find myself comparing everyone to him!!
I have 5 excision done. Now I look at it, only 3 of them turned out alright. The chicken pox scar is still indented and same size but it is longer instead of round looking. One of the scar didn't change at all. Its been ~2 months now. The chicken pox scar is very noticeable. Will I see anymore changes? I also had my first fraxel treatment and nothings changed yet