Abstract
Background: Acne vulgaris is a very common skin disease among young people which might be associated with scarring that has a great impact on the emotional, psychological and social life of the patients as it will go with them for life. Subcision is a new technique for the treatment of acne scars. Objective: To assess objectively and subjectively the efficacy and safety of subcision in the treatment of depressed acne scars. Patients and Methods: This is an open-label therapeutic trial. A total of 16 patients were enrolled in this study. Twelve were males and 4 were females. Their ages ranged from 19 - 39 with a mean of 26.64 ± 5.64. The duration of scar varied between 6 months and 10 years with a mean of 4.14 ± 2.54 years. subcision was done by introducing a sterile, hypodermic, 18-gauge needle. The needle was held by a three ml syringe for better orientation of the sharp tip of the needle. It was kept horizontal to the skin surface with the bevel up, and was introduced in a high sub dermal plane. The needle was slowly advanced parallel to the skin surface. Initially, rapid, repetitive linear back-and-forth motion of the needle makes the skin free of the underlying scar. This procedure was repeated in all directions in a fan-like manner. Results: According to Modified Sharquie’s scoring system for grading acne scars, 4 (25%) patients had severe grade, 11 (68.8%) patients had moderate grade and only 1 (6.2%) patient had mild grade. Evaluation at 6 months after treatment revealed that 8 (50%) patients had mild acne scar, 7 (43.8%) had moderate acne scar and only 1 (6.2%) patient still had severe grade. This change in the grades was statistically significant (p-value = 0.01713441). The average score before treatment was 13.13 ± 2.363; it became 9.50 ± 2.944 after 6 months. By paired t-test comparison, the difference in the score was statistically highly significant (p = 0.000044). Regarding the photographic assessment, the difference in the visual analogue scale before and after treatment was statistically significant (p-value = 0.043823). All patients were satisfied regarding subcision as treatment for their acne scars with variable degrees. In general the reported side effects were transient and vanished within 3 - 7 days apart from firm bumps which resolved within 12 weeks in all patients. Conclusion: Subcision appears to be simple, safe, minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and effective surgical procedure that provides significant long-term betterment for depressed acne scars especially for the rolling type.
Highlights
Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disorder encountered by dermatologists in practice; many patients with inflammatory acne suffer from significant scarring which is disfiguring and difficult to treat [1]
Patients with rolling or depressed acne scars including mainly moderate and severe grades were included in the study
Evaluation of photos was done by means of visual analogue scale (VAS)
Summary
Acne vulgaris is the most common skin disorder encountered by dermatologists in practice; many patients with inflammatory acne suffer from significant scarring which is disfiguring and difficult to treat [1]. Close inspection of acne skin under a bright light can reveal some scarring in up to 90% of patients who attend a dermatologist but significant (socially noticeable) scarring occurs in about 22% of sufferers [2]. Evaluation at 6 months after treatment revealed that 8 (50%) patients had mild acne scar, 7 (43.8%) had moderate acne scar and only 1 (6.2%) patient still had severe grade. This change in the grades was statistically significant (p-value = 0.01713441). Conclusion: Subcision appears to be simple, safe, minimally invasive, well-tolerated, and effective surgical procedure that provides significant long-term betterment for depressed acne scars especially
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
More From: Journal of Cosmetics, Dermatological Sciences and Applications
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.