Hi guys. Last week I had subcision and suction done on my pitted scar and I wanted to show you the results. I am pleased with the progress I made. Still have a ways to go, but it's a good step in the right direction. Subcision is the only solution for pitted scars in my experience. The only downside is it took two weeks to recover and I have some deep nodules on my cheeks that hopefully will go away soon. Also, subcision didn't do anything for my box scars on my other cheek.
Special shoutout to Robertitoo for laying out the blueprint in his post. He is truly a wealth of information and I am grateful for his guidance.
Update: I have a serious nodule that is persistent as a result of the subcision. It is very noticeable and to be frank, I might not have had the procedure done, had I known this would have occurred. I had a kenalog shot done to it, which did absolutely nothing. For anyone who has experienced this, is there anything I can do? Has anyone had excision done on the nodule to cut out the excess skin? It's annoying as hell and people have commented on it. I really do not want to live with this.
Do you mind showing a pic? My guess is that your surgeon is being conservative with the concentration of kenalog because of the risk of atrophy. You either need to do a few sessions to fine tune the results or increase the concentration. For example, the highest concentration is Kenalog 40, or 40 mg/ml. To give you an idea, a concentration of only 2.5 mg/ml is used to flatten an acne cyst. You might need 5 mg/ml or even 10 mg/ml to get some effective flattening.
Some surgeons use Kenalog plus 5-FU to increase the effectiveness. I would strongly advise AGAINST getting an excision without first increasing the dosage of kenalog.
@blahblah82 thanks for your response. I did have a very light dose of kenalog (2 mg/ml I believe), so I guess I shouldn't have expected it to disappear. I'd rather have a lump than another crater on my face as a result of atrophy, so I don't know if I'll get another kenalog shot or just let it play out. Mr. Matt recommended ice and just hoping it goes away over time. Here's a picture, let me know if you have any suggestions.
Well in this case you do want SOME atrophy, because you are trying to flatten what is essentially a lump of scar tissue under the top layer of skin. Kenalog will definitely bring this down if a strong enough dose is injected. A concentration of 2 mg/ml is not going to do much for a mass of scar tissue like that. Thanks for the pic. I see what you are saying.
Personally, I'd try the Kenalog and 5-FU injections before doing anything radical like excision. This is too big of an area to be excised, and I am certain that would be a disaster.
On 6/26/2015 at 1:38 AM, Perservering said:@blahblah82 thanks for your response. I did have a very light dose of kenalog (2 mg/ml I believe), so I guess I shouldn't have expected it to disappear. I'd rather have a lump than another crater on my face as a result of atrophy, so I don't know if I'll get another kenalog shot or just let it play out. Mr. Matt recommended ice and just hoping it goes away over time. Here's a picture, let me know if you have any suggestions.
Hi Perservering,
Just saw your post, not sure if you will visit these forums but I thought I tried my luck anyway.
Could you update on whether your lump eventually resolve and did you do anything to get rid of it?
Thanks!
Mine did eventually resolve, and in fact, I learned to love nodules. Often times they're the only things preventing pitted scarring from returning to their sunken state. Mine took anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months to resolve. They usually linger beneath the surface of the skin, some are gone altogether.I did the massaging and stuff, not sure if that worked. I think you skin looks better post-subcision than before, and you should continue to get a few more treatments in areas with pitted scarring. If you really can't stand it, get a kenalog shot.
