Hi everyone, im greatic a new thread here because on Monday I am meeting with a renowned doctor for scar treatment. I have pretty severe rolling and pitted scars. I've done the research and come to the conclusion that subcision + temporary fillers are my best bet. I'm going to document the journey here and provide photos along the way to help anyone curious about these treatments.
Hi everyone, I met with Rapaport today and I must say, I was impressed with him. He did not push lasers (I refused them) and suggested 2 sessions of subcision. He said that the superficial scars I have (I have a lot of enlarged pores) and he suggested Fraxel repair for that, which I refused. I'm doing the subcision next Thursday. Will keep everyone posted!
Hi everyone, I met with Rapaport today and I must say, I was impressed with him. He did not push lasers (I refused them) and suggested 2 sessions of subcision. He said that the superficial scars I have (I have a lot of enlarged pores) and he suggested Fraxel repair for that, which I refused. I'm doing the subcision next Thursday. Will keep everyone posted!
Would you be willing to post some before pictures for us? I would like to see them. You can cover your eyes and stuff like that. 
Thanks.
I wouldn't be so sure about subcision. I had it done for a scar on my face, and it didn't work. It also made the surrounding area more sunken, which just made the scar stand out even more.
Plus the mechanism by which it works was a little too rough/unpleasant for my liking, and the bruising took a very long time to heal.
I am about to have my 4th subcision next week. Its been a long 6 months journey for me. All I can say is don't expect it to work straight away. It takes time and only now, I am starting to see results. He said most people need more then one treatment to start seeing results (which is true).
My doctor wanted to try subcision first before fillers.
The first subscision is the worst due to the bruising. My bruises lasted over a month (YES A MONTH!!!). The most painful part is the local anaesthetic injections. The first time isn't that bad but the 2nd and 3rd were very painful due to my skin still being bruised under the surface. It hurt a lot.
If you would like photos or anymore information, feel free to comment below and have a look at my post: http://www.acne.org/...y/#entry3180109 (i have photos in this post)
Hi guys, Ive taken a few "before" photos. I ended up postponing the subcision for a week because it turns out you have to take Aspirin for 7 days to get the maximum bleeding during the treatment (more blood = more collagen per Dr Rapapport). It was not fun to take these photos but in all fairness to this forum I believe a picture says a thousand words.
To anyone who has had subcision, please let me know if your scarring was "similar" to mine.
I had subcision and fraxel done last month by Dr. Rapaport. I'm very pleased with the results and I have scheduled to have a second session next month. The one thing to keep in mind is that the results immediately following the procedure (and for about the first week) will look incredible, but are often the result of swelling. I was aware of this going in, but it was still upsetting to see scars that were almost completely filled in after the procedure, begin to re-appear (in a reduced version) as the swelling went down. The other piece of advise that I would give you is to take plenty of before/after pictures as a way to chart your progress. Good luck!
Subcision by far is the best treatment for *ROLLING* (I can't emphasize this enough) scars. From my experience I had 5 pretty deep rolling scars and after two rounds of subcision, my scars are virtually unnoticeable. It definitely works but what I'd recommend to anybody that is thinking about subcision is to first figure out what type of scarring that you have because you're probably not gonna see great results if you don't have rolling scars.
I had subcision and fraxel done last month by Dr. Rapaport. I'm very pleased with the results and I have scheduled to have a second session next month. The one thing to keep in mind is that the results immediately following the procedure (and for about the first week) will look incredible, but are often the result of swelling. I was aware of this going in, but it was still upsetting to see scars that were almost completely filled in after the procedure, begin to re-appear (in a reduced version) as the swelling went down. The other piece of advise that I would give you is to take plenty of before/after pictures as a way to chart your progress. Good luck!
Jmac, can you give an approximate percentage of improvement from the first subcision? Thanks. And yes i'm aware about the honeymoon period with the swelling 
Although I am only having subcision, no Fraxel.
I'm not really sure about how to even quantify what the percentage increase was and I don't want to just throw a number out there. At the end of the day, I feel as though there was a great improvement and I'm very happy that I had it done. Some scars look better than others, but I can look at each one and see improvement, which is all that I was looking for. I'm optimistic that the next round will bring even more improvement, but at the same time, I realize that the area will never be completely smooth.
I'm not really sure about how to even quantify what the percentage increase was and I don't want to just throw a number out there. At the end of the day, I feel as though there was a great improvement and I'm very happy that I had it done. Some scars look better than others, but I can look at each one and see improvement, which is all that I was looking for. I'm optimistic that the next round will bring even more improvement, but at the same time, I realize that the area will never be completely smooth.
Thanks, thats what I am hoping for as well. Please continue to update us on your improvements!
hi everyone, I'm going in on Thursday for the treatment, took 3 days off and hope that that suffices. I'm also not going to do fillers or lasers at this time. I've read a good deal about Dr. Sire in California who performs saline injections. After the subcision, I'm going to go see him as I think saline is a safer alternative to silicone and other fillers. If anyone has two cents on saline let me know! Of course I hope I don't NEED any more treatment after the subcision, so fingers crossed.
Hi GUYS! I did it. It was not so bad BUT there were a few things that I think anyone getting subcision with Dr. Rapaport should know:
1) block out a good three hours. Between waiting, numbing time, and Dr. R's crazy busy schedule, there is a lot of waiting around in the patient room.
2) get ready for SERIOUS pain with numbing. Dr. R comes in and marks with a red marker all the scars he will subcise. Then EACH scar is injected with numbing
medication. This burns and is really awful, especially if you are having lots of scars done.
THe procedure itself only took about 20 mins. Bandages were placed all around my face. Of note, I asked Dr. Rapaport about suction afterwards with a small handheld vac. He said he has read the study but thinks it will be difficult to emulate the results at home. I might try to do this.
I am obviously too swollen now to know results. Once the bandages come off I will post some photos.
OF NOTE: Dr. R mentioned that a new procedure called LeViv is going to be FDA approved soon. This is the stem cell procedure similar to the Recell. He said this will be a good alternative to lasers for superficial scarring.
If anyone has any questions feel free to PM me-
DAY TwO SUBCISION
Lots of pain and soreness today. Can't really move my jaw. I can also see white bumps under the bandages at some incision sites. I really hope
these are not the nodules that are permanent that some people reported having.
Other than that, can't tell anything else. Bandages come off tonight and I will report further then.