Acne scars are a notoriously difficult problem to treat.  Many older therapies relied on deep removal of layers of skin, long healing times, and potential pigmentation (skin color) difficulites.  In times, and potential pigmentation (skin color) difficulites.  In addition, many of the older therapies could not be used in darker pigmented patients.  Luckily, over the last several years, some new and exciting acne scar therapies have come to fruition.  Dr. Shah offers the latest in acne scar treatments.

CROSS (Chemical Reconstruction of Skin Scars)

CROSS is a new approach to acne scars.  Using the strength of a deep peel, Dr. Shah selectively targets acne scars while sparing the remainder of the skin.  He treats specific scars in a highly technical and specific manner.  The stimulation of the deep peel encourages collagen formation, flattening acne scars and improving skin texture. The benefit of targeted selection is that the recovery period of chemical peel is limited to the treated areas.  In addition, many drawbacks of deep chemical peels can be avoided including pigmentary abnormalities, erythema, and scarring.  This technique can be used in all skin types including Caucasian, Asian, African American.

Medical Roll CIT

The medical roll CIT (collagen induction therapy ) is a procedure developed to promote collagen deposition in the dermis, just below the surface of the skin. It is an effective procedure for acne scarring and upper lip wrinkles.

The developers of the medical roll CIT found that tatottoed skin was smoother than nontattooed skin.  They found that the stimulation of the needles created focal areas of stimulation to the dermis, inducing the creation of collagen.  In order to further stimulate collagen, topical vitamin A and C are applied before and after the roll CIT therapy.  The vitamin A and C can more effectively penetrate the deeper layers of the dermis after medical roll CIT session.

While other modalities target collagen by removing lasers of skin, the Medical Roll CIT can stimulate collagen while leaving the majority of the superficial skin intact.  The benefit to the patient is less pain in recovery, quicker recovery, and less chance of scarring or pigmentation changes than ablative skin therapys.  In addition, the medical Roll CIT can be used all skin types safely.

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is an older technique, yet still effective in select types of scars.  Dermabrasion works by removing the superficial layers of skin with a diamond burr.  When the skin heals, it will be smoother and scars may be less visible.  Deep scars and ice pick scars are not good candidates for this type of therapy.  Darker skin types are also not good candidates for this therapy.

Subcision

Subcision is when deeper scars are released with a needle and relies on blood and body fluid to lift scars to surface of skin. Unfortunately, this technique can have drawback of unpredicable nature and temporary lifting of scars only to have them become depressed again.  Dr. Shah utilizes a different approach where he subcises the skin and then uses fine sutures to maintain the improved skin and scar position.  He also subcises skin and maintains positon with dermal fillers to allow for the newly positioned skin to heal in a flatter configuration.