No fractional laser will not fix scars. Just soften them a bit (%). Subcision is used for pits and more effective. Vascular laser for red mark hyperpigmentation. Blogs and internet advice say all sorts of things. Please get a consult by 2-3 dermatologists. If they push laser first run unless your scars are very minor, ... one can also get a few peels in that case as well.
Treat the scar type. It's more about the specialist than the device. As BA suggested, see a few dermatologist to gauge their experience. Ask for the LAST patient they saw, NOT before and after of the best results. A good scar specialist would have at least 6-8 acne scar patients per day, and show you before and after pictures of the patients they have treated on the day of consult, not weeks, or months before. You only have one face, make good choices. Wish you well.
The whole deal with fractional lasers Fraxel Repair or Deep FX is that very very people follow through with the protocol needed to succeed. All my experience is with Fraxel Repair - 5 treatments at 70 mj, (these are settings for Fraxel Repair, and do not apply to Deep FX) and I would estimate an 80% improvement. If someone just calls it Fraxel run in the opposite direction, because they are probably talking about Fraxel Restore which is ineffective. If a doctor wants to treat you at a low megajoule like 40 mj setting just walk away because you will never be satisfied with the results. The improvement is incremental, but I consider it the best thing I ever did. Only a very few people on here have used the proper protocol, but many will do it half way and then say it doesn't work - it does work! Fraxel Repair must be done at high mj and multiple times.
Fraxel Repair was not developed for acne scars, it was developed for the huge industry of wrinkles. Imagine a dermaroller that actually ablates the skin in tiny little columns. The skin heals together and tightens the skin. That is how it is used on wrinkles and also how it works on acne scars. This is also why the effects are cumulative. I believe the cosmetic industry is where all major advances will derive.
The reality is that you might have been the ideal candidate @DudleyDoRight. Many here have ethnic skin and those treatment parameters would annihilate their skin. I personally reacted horribly to fractional c02 lasers, and I'm so glad I did not do more because the damage from one session was clearly visible, and not imagined. I'm not even talking about horrendous PIE that lasted for close to 2 years. I'm talking visible changes in texture between treated and untreated skin. I was horrified.
It just makes more logical sense to raise the indentations, then to blast your entire face with a laser. I'm not doubting it worked for you, but your experience cannot be extrapolated to everyone.
Indeed you are correct. Scar types are as individual as you are, the protocols are standardised, your Re:Pair is not even R1/ R2 over ride, but company protocols. Your protocols are great for sun damage (high density, low mj), for scar revision of ROLLING scars, if one only has limited skills of lasers, then the density should much less (10%) and the energy much more > 110 mj to focal areas, feathered out accordingly. Regardless, treating the scar type is always the key. Sometimes a dude with a needle or Cannular will out perform a $250,000 K laser in the CONTEXT of scar revision.
There is much more money in the cosmetic industry (the dark side of the Force) than the medical industry. Protocols are very different for the treatment of scars... Just my two cents worth.