901 West 38th Street
Suite 410
Austin, TX 78705
512.533.9900
Monday - Thursday
8:00am - 5:00pm
Friday
8:00am - 1:00pm
Acne Scar Treatments Austin
Acne is one of the most common skin diseases in the United States. It is estimated that 60 million Americans suffer from acne and 20 million suffer from it badly enough to cause scarring. Acne scarring is the result of inflammation in the lower layer of the skin called the dermis which causes the collagen to become deformed or scarred resulting in depressions in the skin.
Acne scars are typically classified into boxcar, ice pick and rolling scars. Lasers are a commonly used treatment for the removal of acne scars. Traditional resurfacing lasers like CO2 or erbium can cause improvement in acne scars but require 1-2 weeks down time. Non ablative lasers such as SmoothBeam and CoolTouch, do not remove skin but at best are minimally effective in the treatment of acne scars.
A new resurfacing procedure, named Fraxel is currently the most effective laser in the treatment of acne scars. This laser resurfaces the skin gradually, 20-30% at a time, which allows for rapid healing while eliminating the risk of rawness associated with traditional laser resurfacing procedures. The zones of thermal laser damage serve as a stimulus for collagen production filling in the pitted appearance of acne scars with your own collagen.
The Fraxel laser can result in improvements of up to 50% in the appearance of acne and surgical scars. Dr. Snyder will tailor the procedure for to your skin depending on the type of acne scars which you may have. Subcision may be recommended in addition for treating rolling scars as well as combining the Fraxel resurfacing procedure with punch excisions for ice pick scars.
Treatments are typically done every 2 to 4 weeks. Scars on any body surface area can be treated with the Fraxel laser, although scars on the face respond the best. Patients have to be aware that there is no cure for (acne) scars but that the Fraxel Laser can result in significant improvement in the appearance of acne scars, far superior to any other procedures.
