Good day to all. .. I am scheduled to have a full face recell treatment by Dr. JEREMY RAWLINS at Zenith Cosmetic clinic in nottingham the first week of July.... The wound bed preparation will be dermabrasion and dermarolling.... I will be posting before and after pics and documenting entire process here. .
Good day to all. .. I am scheduled to have a full face recell treatment by Dr. JEREMY RAWLINS at Zenith Cosmetic clinic in nottingham the first week of July.... The wound bed preparation will be dermabrasion and dermarolling.... I will be posting before and after pics and documenting entire process here. .
I've done excision recently and document the whole process. My PS suggested dermabrasion after excision, but don't think I could cope with the downtime, so I'm exciting to hear your outcome with dermabrasion. What kind of scars do you have? Have you done anything else before this?
Good luck and keep us updated!!
Hi Poppy,
I too am nervous about he downtime associated with dermabrasion, but Dr. Rawlins assures me that the recovery will be much faster since we are adding the recell afterwards... I had my first co2 laser (1st gen) fully ablative when I was 23 years old for some mild acne scarring... I am now 40 years old... That was one of the worst decisions that I've made... The heat from that fully ablative laser killed most of the melanocytes in my face and the Dr. at the time went extra deep so the acute redness took like a year or more to resolve... Then I had lingering diffuse redness after that for literally years... I then spent the next few years having multiple Ipl's to deal with the redness and hyperpigmentation that I was dealing with simply because I had such a strong laser procedure done that I did not need.... To top it all off it didn't really do anything for my scars after it was all said and done... So years later when fractional laser co2 came on the market.. I had that performed still trying to address the acne scarring... I've had a total of 3 fractionals, 2 fully ablative co2 lasers (1st gen and 3rd gen), hundreds of Ipl's, Pulse dye lasers, genesis, titan, I've probably had every sort of light modality done at one time or another in an effort to try to get my skin back to something that appears more natural...
Now, around about the same time that I had this initial co2 done I was also talked into having cheek implants put in.... I was very young and naive at that time and desperately wanted to look good so I agreed to this procedure as well... Well this was an equally disasterous decision.... The implants were too large and were not positioned right, and had to be removed 6 months later... Well, after they were removed... This left me with mega scar tissue in my cheeks... Since then I've had hundreds if not thousands of punch graft excisions done in an effort to try and remove some of that scar and excess tissue... Well as you can imagine all this ended up doing was adding more scars...
To make a long story short the conditions that I am dealing with now are as follows: A waxy, shiny look to my skin due to all the co2 and laser treatments... Hypopigmentation, (face wont tan, even though the rest of my skin does) hyperpigmentation, and scarring in my cheeks mostly now from all the punch grafts...
Basically, I think much of the outer layer of my facial skin has been damaged and many of the cells are not functioning properly.. That is why I am so excited about the Recell procedure and getting a whole new layer of skin.. (In addition to treating the scarring, hypopigmentation, and waxy look that I now have...
Michael
I will be posting some pictures soon so you guys will have a baseline on how my skin looks before my upcoming procedure....
Michael
Now, around about the same time that I had this initial co2 done I was also talked into having cheek implants put in.... I was very young and naive at that time and desperately wanted to look good so I agreed to this procedure as well... Well this was an equally disasterous decision.... The implants were too large and were not positioned right, and had to be removed 6 months later... Well, after they were removed... This left me with mega scar tissue in my cheeks... Since then I've had hundreds if not thousands of punch graft excisions done in an effort to try and remove some of that scar and excess tissue... Well as you can imagine all this ended up doing was adding more scars...
To make a long story short the conditions that I am dealing with now are as follows: A waxy, shiny look to my skin due to all the co2 and laser treatments... Hypopigmentation, (face wont tan, even though the rest of my skin does) hyperpigmentation, and scarring in my cheeks mostly now from all the punch grafts...
Did you have those hundreds of punch graft treatments done at once? Did the doctor get all that skin from the area behind your ears? I'm not doubting what you wrote but your treatment was so extreme... I just want to understand what happened.
I hope Recell works for you. I also have hypopigmentation from a fully ablative laser I had done in 1999. My forehead has become hideous over time.
MIkey, it sounds like you've really been put through the ringer. That said, I don't understand why your previous surgeon would do all those punch excisions to treat scarring that was on the inside in your cheeks where the implants were removed. This may sound dumb, but the cheek implants were solid, shaped implants correct? It wasn't permanent injectables that were used right (artefill, liquid silicone)? I'm just not understanding why he did hundreds of punch grafts. I can't imagine the texture you would be left with, with that much cutting going on your face.
Anyways good luck with your healing.
@marcostcb, What exactly did the fully ablative laser do to your forehead skin? Did it cause hypopigmentation or scarring?
@mikey, I can't believe that a doctor would do this to you. It just seems so morally reprehensible to take advantage of someone in that way. I know I shouldn't be shocked, because I've seen countless examples of people damaged by doctors. I just can't fathom that someone would recommend something so totally unnecessary like cheek implants when you came in about acne scarring.
Now, around about the same time that I had this initial co2 done I was also talked into having cheek implants put in.... I was very young and naive at that time and desperately wanted to look good so I agreed to this procedure as well... Well this was an equally disasterous decision.... The implants were too large and were not positioned right, and had to be removed 6 months later... Well, after they were removed... This left me with mega scar tissue in my cheeks... Since then I've had hundreds if not thousands of punch graft excisions done in an effort to try and remove some of that scar and excess tissue... Well as you can imagine all this ended up doing was adding more scars...
To make a long story short the conditions that I am dealing with now are as follows: A waxy, shiny look to my skin due to all the co2 and laser treatments... Hypopigmentation, (face wont tan, even though the rest of my skin does) hyperpigmentation, and scarring in my cheeks mostly now from all the punch grafts...
Did you have those hundreds of punch graft treatments done at once? Did the doctor get all that skin from the area behind your ears? I'm not doubting what you wrote but your treatment was so extreme... I just want to understand what happened.
I hope Recell works for you. I also have hypopigmentation from a fully ablative laser I had done in 1999. My forehead has become hideous over time.
@blahblah82
This is my forehead now. Hypopigmentation, uneven color, orange peel texture, large pores, new scars. Those shallow rolling scars on the right side of the picture were caused by the laser. All those problems started to become visible 2 years after the laser, and became worse over the years. I had only scars before the laser.
[Edited image out]
wow, it sounds like you have been through hell and back mikey. i hope those derms suffer the ultimate concequences in life for what they did too you. i wish you luck on your upcoming treatment with recell. its storys like this that make me cringe and realize how evil some derms/surgeons can be totally unproffesional.
i always new fully ablative lasers were not safe its sad people get convinced into getting it done.
This is what scares me about lasersand really, all scar revision treatments. So scary to know there is the chance of making things worse. I had four fraxels when it first came out, and I still wonder if it has to do with volume loss to my face. I am in my early forties, and my face is aging much differently than anyone else in my family (Two brothers 9 and 10 yrs older than I am, 1 brother three yrs younger).
I had two rounds of micro droplet silicone injectionsthe scars themselves that were treated don't look at all improved to my eye, yet there seems to be an area below the scars that is a bit "puffy". I am currently doing micro needling.am I making things worse??? I sometimes think I see "new" scars, but maybe it's just the lighting, or maybe they are scars that I hadn't noticed before? It's all maddening, and frightening.
I was toying with the idea of fillers - yes, for some scars, but also maybe around my eyes or smile lines (bcs now on top of scarring, there are aging issues).but I am terrified that I am going to be the small percentage of people that has complications, or ends up looking like a freak bcs the dr isn't as skilled as he claims to be.
Well we have to put things in perspective a little bit. The first generation fully ablative co2's were certainly very aggressive, and a lot of doctors at the time were gung-ho about them and used them inappropriately. I've read many stories of people who were scarred or left with no pigment. However, after those things happened the tradiitonal co2 laser was essentially abandoned for a decade before the newer generation of fractional co2 came out. I think it's not really an apples to apples comparison anymore. C02 laser technology has gotten way more advanced. They are both more powerful and at the same time much safer. That said, everything always boils down to the doctor.
Ok. So I am going to post some before pictures... Meaning before I started on the lifechanging decision to have plastic surgery when I needed none... The following pictures were taken when I was in my early twenties.. As you will be able to clearly see, I had normal pigmented skin and any acne scarring that I imagined I had you would have almost needed a microscope to see... To me at the time I thought I looked absolutely terrible... It wasn't until years later that I realized that I had body dismorphic disorder... Ok here are some pics...
Those pictures came out kind of small so I will try to enlarge them so you can see my face...
Ok, so I thought that I was hideously ugly... Seriously, I obviously was crazy because now I would do anything to go back to that... Now, years later after all the procedures this is what I look like now.. I want everyone to know that this is very embarrassing for me, but I am doing this for the benefit of people everywhere who have had their lives destroyed because of botched and unnecessary plastic surgery procedures performed by doctors who don't care about you but just want your money...
Ok here is the current picture of me now I am 40 years old....
Hey Mikey, I feel for you because I had damage too from a laser experience 7 yrs ago. I had a few scars I wanted removed so the doctor say Erbium laser would take them away in one shot. Lasers were new and I heard so many good things about them on TV news shows showing doctors saying how great they were.
The doctor made it sound like a walk in the park, said little down time then perfecta! Well I believed him. I had 7 scars that were little but one really bothered me so I went for it. I thought I would have perfect skin. After the procedure I was beet red & darker red in some spots. I didn't realize how invasive it was going to be, I was hurting so bad after it I didn't sleep for a week from the pain.
Then when it started to heal I saw were the dark red spots were became huge dents, more skin came off in those spots so I was left with rolling scars all over & my skin was so sensitive that I couldn't go outside at all, I had broken blood vessels, redness that wouldn't go away, I went for IPLs to get rid of some of the redness but the scars and dents were horrible.
When I showed him he kicked me out of the office saying the laser couldn't do that. Dah, then what did since it happen during and after the treatment??!! I went to a laser specialists to try to fix my face. Of course he said more treatments with other lasers would help. I had Smoothbeam, Perfecta, Affirm and 7 fraxel restores and still nothing helped to fill in my new scars, they were so deep and the dent from fat loss made a huge dent in my cheek.
I have pigment change in those spots. I went for fillers too but they only last for so long & didn't really help so I just went for a facelift & fat transfers to help pull them to make the dent less noticeable. I'm healing now, the facelift helped the dent a bit but I still have scars showing that make me so depressed. I wouldn't go for any lasers any more. I've been trying needling since it seemed to do as much good as the laser.
I'd like to hear how your procedure goes with the recell. I heard about the recell but don't know much about it. I'll read up more.
When are you having it done? I'm really interested in your opinion since I still have scars that the face lift can't help. Lots of good wishes sent your way and please don't disappear, come back and let us know. We're all in the same boat and it would help so much.
All the money I spent on face treatments and procedures I could have bought a nice car, instead i live like a hermit because i hate showing my face to friends and family.
ok dude, you should be in nottingham by now. Don't leave us hanging. and make sure to post how your face is doing long after the treatment. The other guys don't even come on this site anymore. just because they are obviously relieved that doesn't mean other people are not suffering anymore.
I am really interested in your outcome of the hyperpigmentation. If it comes back, if it goes away, if you tan evenly after you are allowed back into the sun ect, ect.. We already know the outcomes more or less on scars and hypo scars by now.... lets move on.
Good liuck Michael, considering your skin type you should be fine. scars should improve somewhat, from what we have observed. Lets observe how the pigmwentation issues comes out. If the hyper and hypo evens out to an even colour all over the face. Beeing white skinned you sjould not have many problems.
And if anyone with olive skin and hyper should do this treatment please post. Thanlks
Don't know why it shows my letters so small, can't change it, sorry.
ok just had the procedure this morning... I had dermabrasion, dermarolling with recell afterwards...Biopsy was taken from behind the ear... All seems to be well... Dr. Rawlins numbed up my entire face and did dental block beforehand... The first thing he did was the dermabrasion.... Oddly enough that didn't hurt at all... When that was finished he started on the dermarolling... He used a 3mm dermaroller... (huge) This actually did hurt even though my entire face was numbed up.. Not sure why.. Doc said maybe it was because I have so much scar tissue that the lydocaine doesn't necessarily penetrate the scar tissue that well.. After that the recell solution was applied underneath the dressings and onto the areas that were abraded... Anyway all done whole face and head bandaged up... Now I just wait... Can't really open my mouth since these bandages are pretty tight so I guess Im eating soup for the next few days... I have a follow up appointment on Friday so I will post some updates/pics assuming maybe the dressings will be coming off then....
Whole head and face bandaged....
