This month’s newsletter is about acne scars. August marks our one year anniversary for treating acne scars with the Fraxel laser. This laser has made the subject of “acne scars” interesting again. A discussion of acne scars should begin with the fact that they are very difficult to treat. Patients are often given unrealistic expectations. How well you will do depends on what type of acne scars you have, so let’s start by classifying the types of acne scars.
Scars vs. Blemishes:
It is preferable to reserve the term “scar” for something that is permanent unless treated. An acne “scar” is a change in the texture or contour of the skin left by an acne lesion. It is something that you can feel with your eyes closed. A “blemish” is simply a change in color of the skin and you cannot feel it with your eyes closed. Acne “blemishes” are red or brown discolorations of the skin. These generally fade over time without treatment and are not considered true scars. A topical bleaching cream can be used to speed up the fading of the brown discoloration. And a pulsed-dye laser or an IPL can do the same for the red discoloration.
Which acne scars do you have?
Read more…
Treatment of Acne Scars:
Acne scars are difficult to treat because the defect is usually located deep within the dermis. A treatment method can only be successful if it reaches a depth equal to or greater than the depth of the scar being targeted. Even the best acne treatment methods fail to achieve 100% improvement. There is no such thing as “perfection” in this area of dermatology, but moderate and in some cases excellent improvement can be achieved.
Treatment Options:
For thorough discussion of the available treatment options, including those that we do not offer click the following link: Microdermabrasion, Punch Excision, Focal Peeling, Subcision, Laser Resurfacing, and Fraxel Laser
Sincerely,
The Staff and Doctors at Minars Dermatology
email: tminars@hotmail.com
phone: 954-987-7512
In This Issue
Scars vs. Blemishes:
Which acne scars do you have?
Treatment of Acne Scars:
Treatment Options:
We would like to thank those of you who took the time to respond to our annual patient satisfaction survey. We were overwhelmed with the number of positive reponses. We received too many to answer each personally, but you can be sure that every single one was read. They will also all be printed out (the good and the bad) and presented as a packet to each staff member and doctor for review.
