Overview

Years ago in my late teens I suffered from quite severe acne and went through a couple of rounds of accutane. Accutane pretty much cured me, and for years since I finished my course of medication, I only tend to get a few odd pimples here and there. However, what has been left behind are some moderate scars and some severe, ranging from ice picks to box scars.

After lurking around this site for a while, I decided to start my treatment. Back in June I went to see Dr Anil in London and had a consultation. What followed was a course of treatments:

June 2019: subcision (cannular and nokor), RF needling & TCA cross

September 2019: subcision (cannular and nokor), RF needling & TCA cross

December 2019: TCA cross

My observations

After 2 courses of subcison, RF needling & TCA cross I noticed my scars have become more shallow and have smoothed out. I did get a few scars widen from TCA cross and some pigmentation initially. But over time the pigmentation has started to fade, and the widened scars are still an improvement from the original state that looked dark and deep in harsh lighting. I decided to do another TCA cross and see where it leads me. 

During my first subcison, I heard a lot of popping. At my second subcision hardly any. Subcision is quite painful even with numbing cream, but it's quite satisfying to hear the popping of scar tethers. As for RF needling, it can be a little painful but if you have had dermapen before, it is a similar sensation. TCA cross is a sting and hardly hurts at all. 

Before I decided to go with Dr Anil, I was also considering Dr H (London) and traveling to Denmark to see Dr Emil. But I'm glad I consulted with Dr Anil and went with the course of treatments. It's been convenient location wise, easy to book appointments and very cost effective. Dr Anil is very friendly, and you can really sense his wealth of experience from the moment he examines your scars. For those that are in the UK or close by, I recommend giving Dr Anil a try 🙂

Overall over the 6 months, I would say I think I have seen a ~30% improvement. I will let my skin heal up for now and probably do more TCA cross and RF needling next year. Dr Anil says I won't need more subcisions. He's also getting an infini machine, which I want to try out and see how it compares to RF needling.

Below are before (June 2019 ) and after (December 2019 after a tca cross) photos.