How I manage Acne scars

Management of acne scars can be challenging, and it starts with prevention of scar formation by early and adequate treatment of acne. Treatment options will depend on the types of acne scar, the severity of the scars and their impact on the individual patient. Treatments involve treating individual scars as well as the area surrounding the scars.

I use a multimodality approach to improve the different acne scars Macular scars are often temporary and usually no treatment is required. They can be treated with topical creams and lasers or light devices. Atrophic scars are the most common and they comprised the icepick scars, the rolling scars and the box scars. Each of these are treated differently. Icepick scars are best treated by TCA cross (chemical reconstruction of skin scars) or subcision. Atrophic scars are treated by resurfacing lasers or radiofrequency with microneedling. Deep box scars often required pretreatment with subcision or TCA cross before resurfacing treatments. Keloid scars are treated by intralesional steroid with or without 5FU or botulinum toxin.