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Just had SUBCISION treatment done today - Lasers DO NOT work!

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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 12/24/2010 6:29 am

After years of various acne scar treatments (including laser, peels and microdermabrasian) I found a plastic surgeon who advised me to try subcision and who told me that lasers DO NOT work on solving any type of serious acne scarring, but that most medi spas and doctors recommend lasers because they make a lot of money from them.

 

I went in today for my appointment to have subcision done on both sides of my face for various boxscar type acne scars. I decided to choose a plastic surgeon with experience in invasive procedures to cut down on the risk of any serious problems later. I also checked his license with the medical board to make sure he didn't have any negative marks on his record.

 

On a side note, for those of you with icepick type scarring, the doctor told me that those scars respond best to the punch method and not subcision.

 

I will just walk you through some of my experience since it is only the same day and I will make sure and return to let you know the final results.

 

First the doctor gave me a mirror and used a black marker to mark the scars on my face that he and I felt needed the most attention. Then, he used lidocane injections to numb the various areas he would be working on, which on me were on my upper and lower cheeks. Then he took a specific type of flat-looking needle and went under the skin, scraping back and forth until he dislodged the scar tissue underneath and the depressed area bounced up.

 

Although I didn't feel any pain, I won't sugar coat it, there was a lot of blood and it was a bit unsettling listening to the popping and scraping noise as he worked under my skin.

 

When I left, my cheeks were swollen and visibly bruised on the areas he worked. I have been icing all day and night, and was told there was no reason to ice in my sleep and to just let the skin rest. Besides the bruising and overall cheek swelling, the areas directly under the subcision sites are raised and a bit hard to the touch. I was given some homeopathic Arnica Montana extract pills to help heal the bruising faster.

 

I have not taken any pain meds, but my face does feal a bit beat up and sore.

 

The depressions on my cheeks are now raised and look filled out, but I wont be able to tell the real longterm results until the swelling has gone down. Also, you can see the tiny pin-prick looking marks where he inserted the needle.

 

I have an appointment next week for a follow up so the doctor can check on my healing and see the results.

 

The doctor did advise that there is a lot of hand-holding with this procedure and that the patient has to be diligent about their follow-up appointments because some of the areas may continue to swell and the patient has to go in for those areas to be treated.

 

So, far, the subcision areas are swollen, bruised, hard to the touch at subcision sites, but major acne scar depressions seem gone. I will keep you all posted on my results as the healing progresses.

 

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(@frida-k)

Posted : 12/24/2010 7:41 am

Love your use of emoticons :)

 

Very cute.

 

But on topic, Good Luck with the subscision. It sounds like your treatment was executed diligently and expertly.

 

Wish you all the best

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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 12/24/2010 8:46 am

Thank you so much, Frida! :D

 

This was a Christmas present to myself. I've hated my skin for so many years and I am so happy to finally be able to do something about it that can possibly give me satisfactory results!

 

Happy Holidays!

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(@srananman)

Posted : 12/24/2010 1:50 pm

Thanks for sharing your experience, wish you the best! Keep us updated :)

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(@ylem)

Posted : 12/24/2010 11:27 pm

After years of various acne scar treatments (including laser, peels and microdermabrasian) I found a plastic surgeon who advised me to try subcision and who told me that lasers DO NOT work on solving any type of serious acne scarring, but that most medi spas and doctors recommend lasers because they make a lot of money from them.

 

I went in today for my appointment to have subcision done on both sides of my face for various boxscar type acne scars. I decided to choose a plastic surgeon with experience in invasive procedures to cut down on the risk of any serious problems later. I also checked his license with the medical board to make sure he didn't have any negative marks on his record.

 

On a side note, for those of you with icepick type scarring, the doctor told me that those scars respond best to the punch method and not subcision.

 

I will just walk you through some of my experience since it is only the same day and I will make sure and return to let you know the final results.

 

First the doctor gave me a mirror and used a black marker to mark the scars on my face that he and I felt needed the most attention. Then, he used lidocane injections to numb the various areas he would be working on, which on me were on my upper and lower cheeks. Then he took a specific type of flat-looking needle and went under the skin, scraping back and forth until he dislodged the scar tissue underneath and the depressed area bounced up.

 

Although I didn't feel any pain, I won't sugar coat it, there was a lot of blood and it was a bit unsettling listening to the popping and scraping noise as he worked under my skin.

 

When I left, my cheeks were swollen and visibly bruised on the areas he worked. I have been icing all day and night, and was told there was no reason to ice in my sleep and to just let the skin rest. Besides the bruising and overall cheek swelling, the areas directly under the subcision sites are raised and a bit hard to the touch. I was given some homeopathic Arnica Montana extract pills to help heal the bruising faster.

 

I have not taken any pain meds, but my face does feal a bit beat up and sore.

 

The depressions on my cheeks are now raised and look filled out, but I wont be able to tell the real longterm results until the swelling has gone down. Also, you can see the tiny pin-prick looking marks where he inserted the needle.

 

I have an appointment next week for a follow up so the doctor can check on my healing and see the results.

 

The doctor did advise that there is a lot of hand-holding with this procedure and that the patient has to be diligent about their follow-up appointments because some of the areas may continue to swell and the patient has to go in for those areas to be treated.

 

So, far, the subcision areas are swollen, bruised, hard to the touch at subcision sites, but major acne scar depressions seem gone. I will keep you all posted on my results as the healing progresses.

 

 

I had this done a few months ago with DEEP FX and do not think it helped at all. Maybe multiple subcisions are needed, but Ive also had punch excisions and fillers, which also did not do much for the shadowing.

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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 01/16/2011 8:45 am

Just a quick update on the subcision. The swelling is all gone and the bruising has mostly disappeared except for a few small spots. Unfortunatly, now I have raised, hard nodules on the areas the doctor worked on. After reading several other posts and reviews online, I see this is not uncommon and yet my doctor never warned me about it. He had said there would be swelling and bruising but nothing about these nodules, which now make me look like I have cysts on my cheeks. Some people say these nodules fade and others find they are permanent. Since it hasn't yet been a month since my subcision, I can't really tell how my face will end up. I have an appointment on Tuesday and will definitely raise this issue with him. If he is evasive about the matter I am going to another doctor for a second opinion.

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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 01/16/2011 8:54 am

Just a quick update on the subcision. The swelling is all gone and the bruising has mostly disappeared except for a few small spots. Unfortunatly, now I have raised, hard nodules on the areas the doctor worked on. After reading several other posts and reviews online, I see this is not uncommon and yet my doctor never warned me about it. He had said there would be swelling and bruising but nothing about these nodules, which now make me look like I have cysts on my cheeks. Some people say these nodules fade and others find they are permanent. Since it hasn't yet been a month since my subcision, I can't really tell how my face will end up. I have an appointment on Tuesday and will definitely raise this issue with him. If he is evasive about the matter I am going to another doctor for a second opinion.

 

I just read a doctor's response to someone who had the same problem with subcision lumps and he said "sometimes 5-FU injection can reduce the bump." Does anyone know about or have experience with this injection?

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(@gno101975)

Posted : 03/06/2011 7:42 pm

I had laser treatment on my face (a week ago) due to acne scarring that I'd had for 14 years. 5 days after when the swelling had gone, I can still see the scars. My face went red with a bit of blood patches here and there, it's as though the laser had hardly touched my skin. From viewing videos and looking at photos before I'd had it done, the areas didn't become bloody/scabby, just red. I think for the laser to really work, you need quite a lot of passes to penetrate the skin which is why the skin goes bloody/scabby. It goes to prove that what you read and what you see (photos) isn't always the case. Anyone who's thinking about getting this done, you can pay quite a bit of money for this, only to find it hasn't worked. Find out how many passes are being done, more so if you've deep scars. I go back for a check up in a few weeks, so I'm not sure if anything else can be done. Maybe chemical peels would be more effective, but after seeing a few skin specialists, they all seem to have their own opinion, so you end up a bit confused. I would go for chemicals peels, and I think they work out cheaper. Overall, I'm very disappointed with the outcome of my laster treatment.

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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 05/01/2011 1:39 am

I donat not know the depth of your scarring or the severity, but I have talked to several plastic surgeons and they all agree lasers will not fill in deep scaring. It is virtually impossible. Lasers are for very superficial marks. It's like trying to fill in a ditch with a light layer of asphalt. It will coat the ditch but will not make it level with the rest of the road. Also, save your money on chemical peels. I am a licensed esthetician and I know from personal experience that peels will not correct deep acne scars. Laser and peels are for very mild scarring that is just at the surface. If the marks are deep and inverted, you must have some sort of invasive procedure like subcision. I have lived with acne and acne scarring my whole life and I have tried it all. The only thing that finally lifted those depressions in my face was the subcision. Talk to some plastic surgeons before you waste more time and money.

 

I had laser treatment on my face (a week ago) due to acne scarring that I'd had for 14 years. 5 days after when the swelling had gone, I can still see the scars. My face went red with a bit of blood patches here and there, it's as though the laser had hardly touched my skin. From viewing videos and looking at photos before I'd had it done, the areas didn't become bloody/scabby, just red. I think for the laser to really work, you need quite a lot of passes to penetrate the skin which is why the skin goes bloody/scabby. It goes to prove that what you read and what you see (photos) isn't always the case. Anyone who's thinking about getting this done, you can pay quite a bit of money for this, only to find it hasn't worked. Find out how many passes are being done, more so if you've deep scars. I go back for a check up in a few weeks, so I'm not sure if anything else can be done. Maybe chemical peels would be more effective, but after seeing a few skin specialists, they all seem to have their own opinion, so you end up a bit confused. I would go for chemicals peels, and I think they work out cheaper. Overall, I'm very disappointed with the outcome of my laster treatment.
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(@westpoppins)

Posted : 05/01/2011 1:54 am

Btw, quick update on the procedure. It's been 4 months since I had subcision done on several areas on my face and everything has finally healed well and the bumps left behind from the procedure are pretty much gone. If I look very closely I can see a tiny hint of a bump on one area. As a whole my skin is a lot smoother than it's been in years. Any depressions from acne scarring are now raised and I am quite happy. There is one area on the right side he didn't work on and maybe in the future I will go back in for that area but for now, I am happy with the results. The doctor did recommend laser for some of the more superficial marks left byth needle, but they don't bother me much and I feel my skin looks good enough. I'm glad I had the subcision even though it took a few months to really be happy with it.

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(@paulyd)

Posted : 05/01/2011 7:37 am

happy for your improvement

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(@jw9296)

Posted : 07/31/2013 5:14 pm

Great to hear you are happy with the results. Would you tell which doctor you used for this procedure?

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(@sadpotatoes)

Posted : 08/19/2013 4:17 pm

Btw, quick update on the procedure. It's been 4 months since I had subcision done on several areas on my face and everything has finally healed well and the bumps left behind from the procedure are pretty much gone. If I look very closely I can see a tiny hint of a bump on one area. As a whole my skin is a lot smoother than it's been in years. Any depressions from acne scarring are now raised and I am quite happy. There is one area on the right side he didn't work on and maybe in the future I will go back in for that area but for now, I am happy with the results. The doctor did recommend laser for some of the more superficial marks left byth needle, but they don't bother me much and I feel my skin looks good enough. I'm glad I had the subcision even though it took a few months to really be happy with it.

Hi WestPoppins,

I also had subcision done on a few of my acne scars and it has now been 3 and half months since the procedure and I still have bumps. I feel that one area looks lumpy where I can see small pits from the needles but the area all around looks puffy and lumpy. I wanted to ask if your last bump ever went away and your skin completely leveled out? I am worried that mine have only slightly improved and I don't want to get more injections to remove them as that caused some of the dents in the first place! :(

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

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(@michi31)

Posted : 08/20/2013 10:53 am

Sad potatoes - I am 5 weeks post subcision and developed raised scarring. The doc froze it yesterday with liquid nitrogen and said to massage it. If it's not down in two weeks he will inject it with the 5-fu shot. I specifically did not want cortisone because that's also what caused the atrophy for me. Look up the 5-fu shot..it acts only upon scar tissue and less risk. I will let you know how this goes for me.

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(@sadpotatoes)

Posted : 09/03/2013 9:34 pm

Sad potatoes - I am 5 weeks post subcision and developed raised scarring. The doc froze it yesterday with liquid nitrogen and said to massage it. If it's not down in two weeks he will inject it with the 5-fu shot. I specifically did not want cortisone because that's also what caused the atrophy for me. Look up the 5-fu shot..it acts only upon scar tissue and less risk. I will let you know how this goes for me.

Hi michi31,

Thank you so much for your reply. How are you doing at this point? Did the liquid nitrogen and massage help? Were you able to take before and after pics of the area?

Thanks!

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(@likecake)

Posted : 09/03/2013 11:40 pm

can u upload ur pic? just wonder about the improvement

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28
(@michi31)

Posted : 09/04/2013 9:08 am

Sad potatoes - I am 5 weeks post subcision and developed raised scarring. The doc froze it yesterday with liquid nitrogen and said to massage it. If it's not down in two weeks he will inject it with the 5-fu shot. I specifically did not want cortisone because that's also what caused the atrophy for me. Look up the 5-fu shot..it acts only upon scar tissue and less risk. I will let you know how this goes for me.

Hi michi31,

Thank you so much for your reply. How are you doing at this point? Did the liquid nitrogen and massage help? Were you able to take before and after pics of the area?

Thanks!

2 weeks and 2 days later, the liquid nitrogen helped immensely. I no longer have a raised line looking scar going across my chin. What I'm left with is more like a bump that isn't even really raised, just looks irregular like a healing cyst perhaps. I don't want to live with it forever so I am going to see him in a week. Not sure what there is to do about it. However the area has filled in so I think overall it was a success, I just hope this irregular circle smooths out over time. I am still massaging it with silicone gel daily. I do have some pics I took on my phone. I'll think about uploading them at some point.

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