New(ish) Acne Treatment

[grandagent2008]

I'm a 22 year old male still battling acne.  I have tried everything under the sun to no avail (including 2 high dose tane courses).  My mother is from Korea and the big thing over there is electrothermolysis of the sebaceous glands.  I have researched it to death, unfortunately all of the data is in Korean, so I have nothing to refer you to.  The procedure involves a specially designed needle inserted into each pore that permanently destroys the sebaceous gland with an electrical current.  Clinical testing shows a 40-60 percent decrease in surface oils, fibrosis, and significant decrease in sebaceous glands after 5 treatments.  2 year evaluations have showed sebaceous destruction permanence.  I have 2 relatives who have undergone this treatment and the results are truly amazing, their skin is oil (and acne) free! They don't even get black heads on the nose anymore.  I'm thinking 5 procedures to substantially decrease sebum + a topical retinoid to normalize keratinization + an anti-inflammatory antibiotic to tackle all of the acne causes.  I have an appointment to discuss this with my derm., however, I can't get in for 2 months.... Would you have any concerns with permanent destruction of the sebaceous glands in the long run?  I've read they are an evolutionary relic, but I have worries of other atopic dermatitis developing upon there destruction (i.e. xerotic eczema).  Any pearls of wisdom, or cautions???  If you would like I can link you to the few short journal summaries I've found in english...

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I'm afraid I can't advise you about this procedure, because I don't know anything about it.  I found two articles in the medical literature about electrothermolysis, just uncontrolled pilot studies, but neither referred to acne treatment--one was about treating facial seborrhea, the other was about hair removal.  So basically, I don't know.

There are other acne treatments you might want to consider, such as laser treatments to minimize oil glands,  They are safe and have shown modest effectiveness, though it's not always long lasting.  A dermatologic laser center near you can provide more information.

Good luck.

Dr. Rockoff

[grandagent2008]

Just a few more things.  My skin clears beautifully on Tane but the acne returns with the oil...... also, none of the articles I have read detail any adverse effects and the procedure has been around since around 2002... and has been commericially available for a little over a year