Over the last few weeks I've consulted 4 plastic surgeons about
reducing my facial acne scars. Keep in mind the old saying "When all
you have is a hammer then everything looks like a nail".
I phoned many plastic surgeon's offices to inquire about what
procedures they offered and what was the ballpark price. I found very
many that only offered laser. I tried to only actualy meet in person
those who offered at least dermabrasion and laser. I wanted to at
least get a professional opinion on the basic question of which
procedure is suitable to my case. I guess I was mislead by the
receptionist at Dr Oishi's because he only does chemical peels.
I told each surgeon I met that I did not expect perfection. Leftover
scars are ok. It's more important to me to have natural color and
texture. By texture I meen that it shouldn't look like my skin was
polished to a shine.
Surgeon #1: Recomends dermabrasion. Hasn't used a laser in more than 2
years. $3600 using local anesthetic. Add $400 for complete anesthesia.
Dr Mustafa, Wichita Falls TX, (940) 322-1122
Surgeon #2: Recomends a fat injection in 5 places followed a few weeks
later by a dermabrasion. Hasn't used lasers in 2 years. Says that
after using Lasers he concluded that they are no better than
dermabrasion and cost more. Says I have absolutely no "ice pick" type
scars. $3250 including dermabrasion, full anesthesia and fat
injection. Doesn't include about $75 in preop lab work.
Dr Duus, Lawton OK, PH (580) 536-1800
Surgeon #3: Recomends a fat injection and dermabrasion on the same day
followed by a follow up check on the fat injections in a few months.
Has performed both laser and dermabrasion in the last few days.
Insists there is less chance of discoloration with dermabrasion
compared with laser. $2950 including dermabrasion and fat injections.
Doesn't include touch-up fat injections later on.
Dr Nakamura, Arlington TX
www.dr-nakamura.com
Surgeon #4: Recomends 3 chemical peels, 60 days apart. Doesn't do
laser or dermabrasion. Hasn't in a few years. Says I have plenty of
"ice pick" type scars. Says fat injection is a bad idea because some
of it "won't take" and that is unpredictable. I would end up with
uneven results between the left and right side of my face. That
doesn't make sense because my scars are distributed asymetrically as
is. Reducing them asymetrically would not matter. Practically says
dermabrasion is archaic. $1000 for the 3 peels.
Dr Oishi, Garland TX. PH (972) 276-3882
I also met with an esthetician in Wichita Falls who recomended
micro-dermabrasion. She said that although she knew about dermabraion
that she also knew no one who had had it done or who would perform it.
Made it sound like it would be hard to find a plastic surgeon to do
it. There is only one plastic surgeon in Wichita Falls and he does
dermabrasions! I noticed that she decribed the sensation of
microdermabrasion as like the tongue of a cat. So, I started using a
plain old hand cloth to scrub my face. I do it every few days. My face
gets red and sensitive for a while but I noticed a big improvement in
blackheads and maybe even general appearance. My advice is that
microdermabrasion is expensive pampering and that you can get the same
results at home with low tech methods. Just don't over do it. Don't
expect results on the first day. It gradualy helps. Like peeling away
one small layer at a time.
At this point, I only know one thing for sure. Micro-dermabrasion is
not worth it. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be a concensus on
what to do. Most surgeons I met seem to have one way to do things and
they're happy with it. Only Dr Nakamura seems to be in a position to
chose objectively between laser and dermabrasion. Since he chose
dermabrasion, that would make me lean in that direction.
Does anyone know of any medical article (intended for doctors) that
compares these procedures? Effectivity for different conditions.
Relative risks of unwanted results. Relative risks of lower results
than hoped.
What about when I get old, like 60? I'm 37. Will I end up with a weird
face?
If you got either laser, dermabrasion or chemical peel then what
reason was given to you by your surgeon for the choice? Do you know if
that happend to be practically the only procedure he currently uses?
I'm sure some surgeons will say that they can offer all 3 procedures.
It just happens that they keep recomending the same one to every
patient for the last 3 years!
I recomend going to
www.about.com for a good introduction on the
subject of acne and getting rid of acne scars. It's a general
knowledge website.
Acne Scars Guy
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