title: Atrophic acne scar treatment using triple combination therapy: dot peeling, subcision and fractional laser.
abstract: Atrophic scars are a common complication of acne. Many modalities are proposed but each does not yield satisfactory clinical outcomes. Thus, a new combination therapy is suggested that incorporates (i) dot peeling, the focal application and tattooing of higher trichloroacetic acid concentrations; (ii) subcision, the process by which there is separation of the acne scar from the underlying skin; and (iii) fractional laser irradiation. In this pilot study, the efficacy and safety of this method was investigated for the treatment of acne scars. Ten patients received this therapy for a year. Dot peeling and subcision were performed twice 2-3 months apart and fractional laser irradiation was performed every 3-4 weeks. Outcomes were assessed using scar severity scores and patients' subjective ratings. Acne scarring improved in all of the patients completing this study. Acne scar severity scores decreased by a mean of 55.3%. Eighty percent of the patients felt significant or marked improvement. There were no significant complications at the treatment sites. It would appear that triple combination therapy is a safe and very effective combination treatment modality for a variety of atrophic acne scars.
authors: Department of Dermatology, College of Medicine, Kwan-Dong University, Ilsan, Korea.
authors: Won Hyoung
authors: WH
authors: Kang
authors: Yun Jeon
authors: YJ
authors: Kim
authors: Won Sik
authors: WS
authors: Pyo
authors: Sung Jin
authors: SJ
authors: Park
authors: Jie Hoon
authors: JH
authors: Kim
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000150:complications*; D000328:Adult; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003357:Cosmetic Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D028022:Low-Level Light Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012867:Skin / Q000528:radiation effects; D014238:Trichloroacetic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014238:Trichloroacetic Acid