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Acne Scars: Information and facts
Acne effects many people and although some end up without any skin damage, some people are left with disfiguring acne scars. There are some topical skin care products and medications that can improve mild scarring, but most acne scars are treated with a combination of surgical procedures and skin resurfacing.
Causes of Acne Scars
Acne scars are caused by the body’s inflammatory response to sebum, bacteria and dead cells in the plugged sebaceous follicle. Two types of true scars exist: (1) depressed areas such as ice-pick scars, and (2) raised thickened tissue such as keloids. When tissue suffers an injury, the body rushes its repair kit to the injury site. Among the elements of the repair kit are white blood cells and an array of inflammatory molecules that have the task of repairing tissue and fighting infection. However, when their job is done they may leave a somewhat messy repair site in the form of fibrous scar tissue, or eroded tissue.
Prevention of Acne Scars
The only sure method of preventing or limiting the extent of scars is to treat acne early in its course. The more that inflammation can be prevented or moderated, the more likely it is that scars can be prevented.
Treatment of Acne Scars
- Collagen injection - Collagen, a normal substance of the body, is injected under the skin to "stretch" and "fill out" certain types of superficial and deep soft scars. Collagen treatment usually does not work as well for ice-pick scars and keloids.
- Autologous fat transfer - Fat is taken from another site on your own body and prepared for injection into your skin. The fat is injected beneath the surface of the skin to elevate depressed scars.
- Dermabrasion - This is thought to be the most effective treatment for acne scars. Under local anesthetic, a high-speed brush or fraise used to remove surface skin and alter the contour of scars. Superficial scars may be removed altogether, and deeper scars may be reduced in depth.
- Microdermabrasion - A surface form technique of dermabrasion. Rather than a high-speed brush, microdermabrasion uses aluminum oxide crystals passing through a vacuum tube to remove surface skin. Only the very surface cells of the skin are removed, so no additional wound is created.
- Laser Treatment - Lasers of various wavelength and intensity may be used to recontour scar tissue and reduce the redness of skin around healed acne lesions. The type of laser used is determined by the results that the laser treatment aims to accomplish. Tissue may actually be removed with more powerful instruments such as the carbon dioxide laser.
- Skin Surgery - In this procedure each scar is excised down to the layer of subcutaneous fat; the resulting hole in the skin may be repaired with sutures or with a small skin graft.
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