Accutane and ice pick scars

I've had acne since I was about 9 years old. It started getting worse in my early teen years and now I have started my course of accutane for it. I noticed about 2 years ago my right cheek has small ice pick scars ( it looks like somebodys picked on my skin with a needle) it's not that big and not that deep bit it's is really noticable up close. I was wondering if the accutane will help with the ice pick scarring and make it less noticeble?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
These scars can be due to the acne that you had. The acne scars are a type of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation scars. For such kind of scars, various skin creams like hydroquinone, azelaic acid, corticosteroids and tretinoin are effective. Accutane consists of isotretinoin and it should help with the scars .If it still persists then you can go in for laser treatment, Chemical peeling or microdermabrasion.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.