Acne scars

[Newbee2000]

I have acne scars on my cheeks that give my skin a bumpy texture. If I look closely at the individual scars, many look like tiny pin holes, yet my skin looks sort bumpy as the scars are raised not holes. I'm wondering if any there is a laser treatment that might improve this? I've heard of smooth beam and fraxel, but don't know if they work for acne scars. I've also read about peels and skin punch (where the scar is cut out). Any suggestions?

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

Treatment will range from Fraxel laser treatment, CO2 laser resurfacing, to dermabrasion.  All of these treatment will help to smooth the skin but will not completely eliminate the 'ice pick' scars.  The surface of the skin would need to be 'sanded' down to the level of the depths of the pit, to eliminate the scars - not a realistic process.  Use of a skin punch can help to excise the scars if there are only a few.

[shellybean]

Hi, I'm an African-American female in my mid-thirties who's suffered from acne since I was 14 years old. I now have deep "ice pick" scarring on both my cheeks. I also suffer from hyper-pigmentation, could I benefit from the "skin punch" method that was mentioned in the previous post to help even out my skin's appearance?

Thank you,

Michelle

[Howard Rosenberg, MD]

You might try one or two inconspiculous ice pick scars with punch treatment to see if the resulting scar is better that what you have now.

[bab909]

A related discussion, acne was started.