So as per the title, he recommended I start a series of TCA+Microneedling sessions for best results of my rolling/boxcar scars. He said that the treatments would be performed on the same day, with the TCA peel (10%) used to "open" the skin for the microneedling.
Is this a normal procedure? It sounds like it could be quite damaging to do them together, but I did see some research papers on Google recommending this combo.
@General_RommelNo I would never do both of these in the same session. Most practitioners do badly, you could end up with worse problems. Seperate them out. They do this together because they make more money. There are more side effects combining any treatment. Besides one can Dermastamp at home monthly and the next month do a glycolic peel themselves between major Dr treatments like TCA Cross and Subcision, or laser. If your afraid and want to have someone do the procedures, just separate them out until you heal. At this point Microneedling is offered so many times by practitioners but will not get you to where you want to be, Needling is for at home stimulation, laser brings more results but has more downtime and cost.
Regarding your white papers / split blind studies / etc... Just like in college a"paper" is a theory. They have a new idea and thus want to test out their"idea." Some ideas die as they are not correct or more information is found. I think this is more of either practitioner wanting more money, being overly cocky and thinking they can try some new treatment protocol or wanting to do multi-treatments ... we'll just throw everything at it. Many have sensitive skin or heal poorly, ... by adding multi-procedures your adding side effects and complications. For instance, there is a famous Dr who does 5 treatments at once, ... if you respond badly as more than 60% do, he says it's not his fault, offers more treatments, and ignores the issue. When you goto a used car dealership they may have you buy all the upgrades with your car. Is that the best way to do it, probably not, but it's an option that benefits the dealership.
For someone to peel and needle in one session, they better be an expert at acid peels Example Dr Rullan in San Diego. Why because he has the knowledge to use chemical peels on different patients and scenarios. Many practitioners don't even know how to do TCA Cross correctly.
I think it would be best if you posted some pictures for your scars for an evaluation/plan, so you can feel confident in treatment.