Acne and Acne Scar Treatment

Laser Treatment of Acne

Most acne responds to topical medications and/or oral antibiotics. If your acne does not respond well to medications then you can consider alternative treatments. These alternative therapies include chemical peels and lasers. Some people will respond to superficial chemical peels. Others with more significant acne may not respond to superficial chemical peels and can consider treatment with lasers.

Lasers to treat acne can be divided into two groups. One group of lasers is used to eliminate the bacteria involved in acne lesions through the formation of photoporphyrins. The other group of lasers is used to decrease the formation of new acne lesions. Some patients will have the best response if they are treated with both types of lasers. Treatments with lasers from both groups should not be performed at the same time but rather sequentially, allowing days to recover between treatments.

Since the FDA has recently placed a “blackbox” warning on isotretinoin, more patients are considering lasers as an alternative treatment for medication resistant acne.

Laser Treatment of Acne Scars

Some patients develop scars from their acne. Facial acne scars can be quite noticeable and a source of embarrassment. The treatment of these scars varies, depending on the nature of the scars.

There are multiple means of treating these scars. These include: fractionated lasers, erbium resurfacing lasers, nonablative lasers, chemical peels, fillers and/or fat grafts. The laser procedures are performed in the office, using a topical anesthetic which is a cream applied to the skin surface. Using modern lasers there is usually minimal to no discomfort associated with these treatments.

Fractionated resurfacing lasers and erbium resurfacing lasers are used to make the surface more even blending high and low spots. Treatment with fractionated CO2 and erbium resurfacing lasers usually has an associated recovery that can range from an average of four to seven days. The nonablative lasers are used to stimulate neocollagen production thereby elevating some of the low spots in the scars. Usually these lasers do not require time for recovery. Frequently more than one treatment is necessary to optimize the results. These treatments can improve facial acne scars but they usually cannot be completely eliminated.