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Is My Face Ruined By Dermabrasion?

 
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(@jenny-from-the-block)

Posted : 03/27/2014 5:57 am

Some of you may remember me as last summer I told everyone excitedly that I had dermabrasion after years of laser. I had done lots of research and expressed my concern over the risk of further scarring to my plastic surgeon.

Now, eight months has gone and as you can see in the attached photos. My old acne scars do not improve much while there are some large pits near my mouth. I am extremely devastated. The pits look as if my flesh has been spooned out.

I told my plastic surgeon that the redness is okay because sooner or later they will fade. However, the large pits are too big (5cmX5cm) and I have worn my facial mask for nearly 1 year. I am fed up.

What he told me is another dermabrasion to fix the side effects.

I am devastated. Is here anyone who had dermabrasion done and shared your experience with me?

 

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/27/2014 10:26 pm

Jenny I do remember your post... Did you use to post as JennyFung or something? If that's you I remember you said you did co2 lasers like dozens of times.

That is how your skin looks after 8 months of healing? I was confused at first with the pics but I see that you labeled them upon expanding the pics. I agree that your skin is very red and the dermabrasion looks extensive and deep. Why did your physician go so deep? Your face pre-dermabrasion did not look bad at all.

 

From your history with so many lasers, I'm sure you are very knowledgable about aftercare. I'm sorry you're dealing with this situation.

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14
(@skullkid87)

Posted : 03/27/2014 11:37 pm

its not ugly at all, and its not even close to your mouth. i think your pretty, and i cant even see all of you

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29
(@cycloverid)

Posted : 03/28/2014 12:53 am

I didn't have dermabrasion, but I had Ultrapulse. My face was very red like yours for over 8 months. I had 2 IPLs, 4 subcisions, 4 restores to try and reverse the damage. Over a year and a half later and many other procedures to try and correct the problem, I still have horrible scars from the procedure. I have been in a very dark place for a long time now. It was the worst experience of my life.

I know how it feels. You have to just be strong and try not to look in the mirror until everything settles.

Oh yeah, and don't get another dermabrasion... Go get a second opinion.

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/28/2014 4:27 am

I completely agree.... please do not allow this doctor to touch your face again. I don't want to make you feel worse but something clearly did not go right. It does look like he went too deep, and you did not heal correctly. Why did the doctor even dermabrade closer to the mouth area? I don't even see any scarring in that area in your pre-dermabrasion pictures.

I think you should stay clear of any kind of resurfacing procedure. The only laser I would even attempt is vbeam to try and calm the redness. No chemical peels, lasers, and certainly not dermabrasion again.

good luck.

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(@tokyogirl)

Posted : 03/28/2014 6:25 am

I think I remember your prior posts. You had done Deep FX and other lasers over 20 times.

I have no experience with dermabrasion but urge you not to let this doctor touch your face again. Something obviously went very wrong.

I don't think your skin can handle another aggressive treatment and that includes laser. Please give your skin a break.

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

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(@aurevoir771)

Posted : 03/28/2014 9:49 am

So two pictures in the middle are the recent ones while left and right photos are before dermabrasion, which was 8 months ago. I've had some pretty intensive laser treatments such as Fraxel:repair, Intracel, and Legato, but my face returned to "almost normal" after 6 weeks at the latest. I have never tried dermabrasion, so I do not have any recommendation for you. All I know is that just like everybody else is saying, do not let this doctor touch your face please.

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/28/2014 10:45 am

I've had a very limited dermabrasion as a test spot, and now at 4 months, I can tell you that this is NOT normal at all. My test spot is certainly pink and can get red when irritated or exposed to extreme heat but it doesn't look red and raw like this. Your 8 month photos look like your dermabrasion was done a few weeks prior. Please see a reputable plastic surgeon or dermatologist, and more importantly stop with all procedures. I remember your story quite well because I've never met someone who had done so many aggressive procedures back to back.

It's hard when you place your trust in doctors and then this happens. Stay strong.

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(@jenny-from-the-block)

Posted : 03/28/2014 11:55 am

thanks for your support, everyone

I dont know why the plastic surgeon went so deep

I urged him not to do so deep before the surgery

now I wear a mask (the one that a doctor wears every day) and stay indoors for nearly 8 months

If a guy with dermabrasion experience thinks this is not a normal recovery, I will see another dermatologist and sue the plastic surgeon

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 03/28/2014 12:40 pm

Have you seen another doctor since this happened? Did you do this in Asia? Dermabrasion is in general risky, but for Asians it's especially risky. Most doctors strongly advise against dermabrasion on Asian skin, and I am very surprised that this was offered to you. It is alarming that he went against your wishes and went aggressive. It blows my mind that he would recommend another dermabrasion after this.

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(@dudleydoright)

Posted : 03/28/2014 5:17 pm

I wish I had spoken to you earlier. I found dermabrasion to be useless. You need to take at least a year off and just baby your skin. It would be interesting to know what other treatments you have had. Your face is not ruined!!

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(@enoughisenough29)

Posted : 03/28/2014 5:52 pm

I get angry reading threads like this. Did you at least get your money back? Yes, sue the bugger and ask to see a true skin specialist who deals with mess ups.

I wouldnt be comfortable doing anything on that skin as it is right now. Dermatology is still in the stone ages and nothing really works on a consistant basis unless you are a sun tanning whore and want some superficial sun damage removed.

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(@jenny-from-the-block)

Posted : 03/29/2014 12:39 am

I wish I had spoken to you earlier. I found dermabrasion to be useless. You need to take at least a year off and just baby your skin. It would be interesting to know what other treatments you have had. Your face is not ruined!!

I have Lumenis Deepfx and Fraxel Restore for many times

and they can achieve little on my face

so I had dermabrasion in Taiwan because it is said on the internet that dermabrasion gives them better results than laser

However, so far, as I see, my original acne scars do not get much improvement

but why you think my face is not ruined?

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81
(@dudleydoright)

Posted : 03/29/2014 8:37 am

Jenny, I am suprised that you did not get at least some improvement from the DeepFX. I advocate Fraxel Re:pair for those that can handle it. The protocol for Re:pair is high settings 60-70mj and multiple treatments spaced at least 6 months apart. I don't know at what setting you had DeepFX done, but the lower settings would do you no good. If you were not very swollen after DeepFX you were probably treated at a lower level. After my first Re:pair at 70mj-60% my face was about twice its normal size, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. Since you don't seem to have pigmentation issues you should seriously look into Re:pair. As you can tell by my signature I have done about everything and Re:pair is the only thing I endorse.

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(@enoughisenough29)

Posted : 03/29/2014 7:40 pm

Jenny, I am suprised that you did not get at least some improvement from the DeepFX. I advocate Fraxel Re:pair for those that can handle it. The protocol for Re:pair is high settings 60-70mj and multiple treatments spaced at least 6 months apart. I don't know at what setting you had DeepFX done, but the lower settings would do you no good. If you were not very swollen after DeepFX you were probably treated at a lower level. After my first Re:pair at 70mj-60% my face was about twice its normal size, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. Since you don't seem to have pigmentation issues you should seriously look into Re:pair. As you can tell by my signature I have done about everything and Re:pair is the only thing I endorse.

Dudley, you are the minority.

Havent you worked that out yet?

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(@tokyogirl)

Posted : 03/29/2014 11:37 pm

I recall Jenny's earlier posts, and her Deep FX settings were mild, not even moderate. I remember she wrote to the makers at one point, and they said her doctor needed to try 20mj if she wasn't seeing any improvement. I don't know if she ever had a treatment even close to 15mj. My doctor used a combination of 17.5mj and 20mj for my Deep FX treatments, which was necessary to reach the depth of my scars. With Asian skin, you really can't turn up the juice to the maximum setting. It's far too dangerous. However, you can still be aggressive enough to improve acne scars.

In Jenny's case, I absolutely wouldn't try another resurfacing treatment for a long, long time. I wouldn't even try a mild peel.

Best of luck to Jenny. I do hope your skin heals soon, and you're able to leave the house without a face mask.

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92
(@binga)

Posted : 03/30/2014 3:35 am

Go to china or any where else to get recell spray on skin. That should speed up the healing process. After that get stem cell enriched fat grafting with subcision/needling.

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(@dudleydoright)

Posted : 03/30/2014 7:30 am

I recall Jenny's earlier posts, and her Deep FX settings were mild, not even moderate. I remember she wrote to the makers at one point, and they said her doctor needed to try 20mj if she wasn't seeing any improvement. I don't know if she ever had a treatment even close to 15mj. My doctor used a combination of 17.5mj and 20mj for my Deep FX treatments, which was necessary to reach the depth of my scars. With Asian skin, you really can't turn up the juice to the maximum setting. It's far too dangerous. However, you can still be aggressive enough to improve acne scars.

In Jenny's case, I absolutely wouldn't try another resurfacing treatment for a long, long time. I wouldn't even try a mild peel.

Best of luck to Jenny. I do hope your skin heals soon, and you're able to leave the house without a face mask.

Without the proper protocol laser treatments are useless. If what you say is true Jenny would never have seen the benefits of DeepFX, throw in useless Re:store and top that off with useless Dermabrasion and she has wasted time and money. I believe you can be her best counsel because you understand how laser treatment works for Asian skin, and I totally agree that she needs to take some time off and just baby her skin.

Jenny I hope you read this and understand that Inspired has more pertinent advice for you than just about anybody else on these forums including me. I can fly through Fraxel Re:pair at its highest settings with ease, and I heal very quickly, but not everybody is like that. There is a ton of bad advice out there, and a lot of voodoo cures.

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46
(@tokyogirl)

Posted : 03/31/2014 7:49 pm

I recall Jenny's earlier posts, and her Deep FX settings were mild, not even moderate. I remember she wrote to the makers at one point, and they said her doctor needed to try 20mj if she wasn't seeing any improvement. I don't know if she ever had a treatment even close to 15mj. My doctor used a combination of 17.5mj and 20mj for my Deep FX treatments, which was necessary to reach the depth of my scars. With Asian skin, you really can't turn up the juice to the maximum setting. It's far too dangerous. However, you can still be aggressive enough to improve acne scars.

In Jenny's case, I absolutely wouldn't try another resurfacing treatment for a long, long time. I wouldn't even try a mild peel.

Best of luck to Jenny. I do hope your skin heals soon, and you're able to leave the house without a face mask.

Without the proper protocol laser treatments are useless. If what you say is true Jenny would never have seen the benefits of DeepFX, throw in useless Re:store and top that off with useless Dermabrasion and she has wasted time and money. I believe you can be her best counsel because you understand how laser treatment works for Asian skin, and I totally agree that she needs to take some time off and just baby her skin.

Jenny I hope you read this and understand that Inspired has more pertinent advice for you than just about anybody else on these forums including me. I can fly through Fraxel Re:pair at its highest settings with ease, and I heal very quickly, but not everybody is like that. There is a ton of bad advice out there, and a lot of voodoo cures.

Actually, my recollection was slightly wrong. Her doctor did eventually turn up the juice but only used 10% density. Her first few treatments were mild and would have had no effect on acne scars. Her prior posts are here:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/314767-lumenis-introduces-scaar-fx/page-6

I'm not sure 10% density is correct though. I've learned a lot more about Deep FX over the last year. Depending on the shape used with the handpiece, a 10% density setting on the machine can actually equate to much more. I don't remember what density my doctor used on the machine, but it was equivalent to 60% density once combined with the shape at the end of the handpiece. The more condensed the scan area/shape is, the higher the density goes with Deep FX.

I think she did have improvement previously from Deep FX. When treating our scars, I think we have to be realistic and accept the fact that our skin will *never* be perfect or smooth. We can only hope to minimize them. At times, we strive for the impossible.

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(@jenny-from-the-block)

Posted : 04/01/2014 10:46 am

Go to china or any where else to get recell spray on skin. That should speed up the healing process. After that get stem cell enriched fat grafting with subcision/needling.

I have asked about Recell before dermabrasion on Realself

the doctors said Recell should be sprayed Immediately after the dermabrasion

I recall Jenny's earlier posts, and her Deep FX settings were mild, not even moderate. I remember she wrote to the makers at one point, and they said her doctor needed to try 20mj if she wasn't seeing any improvement. I don't know if she ever had a treatment even close to 15mj. My doctor used a combination of 17.5mj and 20mj for my Deep FX treatments, which was necessary to reach the depth of my scars. With Asian skin, you really can't turn up the juice to the maximum setting. It's far too dangerous. However, you can still be aggressive enough to improve acne scars.

In Jenny's case, I absolutely wouldn't try another resurfacing treatment for a long, long time. I wouldn't even try a mild peel.

Best of luck to Jenny. I do hope your skin heals soon, and you're able to leave the house without a face mask.

Without the proper protocol laser treatments are useless. If what you say is true Jenny would never have seen the benefits of DeepFX, throw in useless Re:store and top that off with useless Dermabrasion and she has wasted time and money. I believe you can be her best counsel because you understand how laser treatment works for Asian skin, and I totally agree that she needs to take some time off and just baby her skin.

Jenny I hope you read this and understand that Inspired has more pertinent advice for you than just about anybody else on these forums including me. I can fly through Fraxel Re:pair at its highest settings with ease, and I heal very quickly, but not everybody is like that. There is a ton of bad advice out there, and a lot of voodoo cures.

Deeply grateful for your kind advice

Actually I have not had any laser since 2012 because I saved my money for Sculptra

In Hong Kong Fraxel Repair is quite new and therefore it is expensive

In private hospitals, they charge US$4000 EACH treatment

some of them even treat the patients with low setting

I recall Jenny's earlier posts, and her Deep FX settings were mild, not even moderate. I remember she wrote to the makers at one point, and they said her doctor needed to try 20mj if she wasn't seeing any improvement. I don't know if she ever had a treatment even close to 15mj. My doctor used a combination of 17.5mj and 20mj for my Deep FX treatments, which was necessary to reach the depth of my scars. With Asian skin, you really can't turn up the juice to the maximum setting. It's far too dangerous. However, you can still be aggressive enough to improve acne scars.

In Jenny's case, I absolutely wouldn't try another resurfacing treatment for a long, long time. I wouldn't even try a mild peel.

Best of luck to Jenny. I do hope your skin heals soon, and you're able to leave the house without a face mask.

Without the proper protocol laser treatments are useless. If what you say is true Jenny would never have seen the benefits of DeepFX, throw in useless Re:store and top that off with useless Dermabrasion and she has wasted time and money. I believe you can be her best counsel because you understand how laser treatment works for Asian skin, and I totally agree that she needs to take some time off and just baby her skin.

Jenny I hope you read this and understand that Inspired has more pertinent advice for you than just about anybody else on these forums including me. I can fly through Fraxel Re:pair at its highest settings with ease, and I heal very quickly, but not everybody is like that. There is a ton of bad advice out there, and a lot of voodoo cures.

Actually, my recollection was slightly wrong. Her doctor did eventually turn up the juice but only used 10% density. Her first few treatments were mild and would have had no effect on acne scars. Her prior posts are here:

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/314767-lumenis-introduces-scaar-fx/page-6

I'm not sure 10% density is correct though. I've learned a lot more about Deep FX over the last year. Depending on the shape used with the handpiece, a 10% density setting on the machine can actually equate to much more. I don't remember what density my doctor used on the machine, but it was equivalent to 60% density once combined with the shape at the end of the handpiece. The more condensed the scan area/shape is, the higher the density goes with Deep FX.

I think she did have improvement previously from Deep FX. When treating our scars, I think we have to be realistic and accept the fact that our skin will *never* be perfect or smooth. We can only hope to minimize them. At times, we strive for the impossible.

The doctor who performed Deepfx prefer higher energy but lower density (for safety reason?)

However, I think even the energy is deep enough to penetrate into my scar

my collagen reconstruction still cannot make up for my tissue loss

I think some of my scars are deep into the 'fat layer'

and I am thinking of micor-droplet silicone in the future

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 04/01/2014 2:10 pm

I would forget about Recell or anything that requires another wound. You absolutely cannot do anymore resurfacing for a long time. Honestly, do not take anymore risks with your skin.

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46
(@tokyogirl)

Posted : 04/02/2014 12:26 pm

The doctor who performed Deepfx prefer higher energy but lower density (for safety reason?)

However, I think even the energy is deep enough to penetrate into my scar

my collagen reconstruction still cannot make up for my tissue loss

I think some of my scars are deep into the 'fat layer'

and I am thinking of micor-droplet silicone in the future

This is true. Laser is not going to magically recreate lost tissue, especially if it's deep. Dermabrasion, Recell and any other resurfacing procedure won't either. Filler or fat grafting to replace lost tissue are options. Silicone is quite risky. We don't know the long-term side-effects of silicone micro-droplet either.

I hope you will give your skin ample time to heal before trying any other procedures. Based on your 8-month photos, I would say you are a long way from healing from dermabrasion. The damage looks deep, and like you just had the procedure two weeks ago.

What has your doctor said? Curious to know whether he thinks your healing is normal. Have you seen other specialists to get their opinions?

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81
(@dudleydoright)

Posted : 04/02/2014 7:41 pm

Jenny, I am suprised that you did not get at least some improvement from the DeepFX. I advocate Fraxel Re:pair for those that can handle it. The protocol for Re:pair is high settings 60-70mj and multiple treatments spaced at least 6 months apart. I don't know at what setting you had DeepFX done, but the lower settings would do you no good. If you were not very swollen after DeepFX you were probably treated at a lower level. After my first Re:pair at 70mj-60% my face was about twice its normal size, and my eyes were almost swollen shut. Since you don't seem to have pigmentation issues you should seriously look into Re:pair. As you can tell by my signature I have done about everything and Re:pair is the only thing I endorse.

Dudley, you are the minority.

Havent you worked that out yet?

You really don't know me. I don't give a squat what you think. I have done more serious procedures than most people on this forum, and I finally found what works. Jenny will achieve the best results with the Re:pair protocol, and I will tell her so rather than have her chase the treatment de jour. Re:pair has been the Gold Standard since 2008. I have no knowledge of some of the other procedures so I don't run my mouth about them like some of the people do about Re:pair. Don't try to silence me - IT WON'T WORK!!!

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270
(@blahblahblahblahz)

Posted : 04/02/2014 9:19 pm

Dudley, I agree lasers have their place. Unfortunately in this case, her skin obviously cannot take another resurfacing procedure of ANY sort for a long long time. This does not look like 8 months post op.

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81
(@dudleydoright)

Posted : 04/03/2014 5:48 am

Dudley, I agree lasers have their place. Unfortunately in this case, her skin obviously cannot take another resurfacing procedure of ANY sort for a long long time. This does not look like 8 months post op.

I think she needs to take at least a year off and just baby her skin, and find out where she really stands. I posted a thread on the Essential Day Spa and I hope she reads it, and starts doing some nice things for her face. She was on the right track with DeepFX, then she took a detour into the wrong thing - Re:store, and then she did the worst thing by doing dermabrasion. In her frustration she is making all the wrong moves. Her treatment plan is almost the exact opposite of what I did, and she has turned to more primitive treatments. Still I believe her skin is not ruined. Those middle pictures from the dermabrasion are alarming, but really don't tell much about where she is at. If I had a picture 2 days after my first Re:pair it would be pretty scarey, but 3 days later not so bad. This year will mark 3 years since my last Re:pair, and that is only because I became more socially active after improvement from Re:pair. I am not perfect, but the change is so dramatic that it changed my whole attitude. There are a few on here that seek to silence me because I challenge their notion that Re:pair is the work of the devil, but I will take my first hand knowledge over their heresay any day. I stay out of the subscision debate because I have no concrete evidence whether it works or not. As with all other forums there are a few that take a position when they have no real knowledge of the subject. Read the bottom quote on my signature it is from "The Road to Wellville" it describes how people can be sold anything in the name of health.

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