Information request regarding cortisone induced atrophy

Dr. Rockoff,
On December 7, 2006 I had a cortisone injection in a raised bump/pimple on my left cheek (over my cheekbone). I had a terrible break out. I

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

What you're describing is atrophy ("skin thinning").  This is entirely reversible, but takes about 6 months, which is why you haven't seen much change yet.  Age and scarring history don't play a role; what does is the concentration of cortisone, which is diluted to make the indenting less likely.  I presume that in your case the injection was diluted, but apparently not enough.  To be fair, it is not always possible to predict indenting even if the standard dilution was used.  The shallowness of the dent is a good sign, but the healing doesn't happen overnight.  It does happen, though, pretty much all the time.

When to inject is a matter of judgment--on the part of both patient and treater.  We do it frequently, primarily to help large, unsightly pimples go away faster than the weeks it would take on their own.  How large is "large," depends a lot on the person who has it.

I hope this information helps.

Dr. Rockoff

[MsSkinProblems]

A related discussion, Cortison Dent and Fat Transfer was started.