Effectiveness of subcision using carboxytherapy plus fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing in the treatment of atrophic acne scars: comparative split face study.

Introduction: Fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing is the gold standard treatment for atrophic acne scars but when combined with subcision to the depressed scars it provides rapid improvement. Carboxytherapy is considered a tool for subcision via injecting the gas under pressure plus its well-known effect in rejuvenating scars.Aim: Main objective of the work is to evaluate the effectiveness of combined subcision using carboxytherapy plus fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing in the treatment of atrophic acne scars.Patients and method: Twenty patients with atrophic acne scars undergone three sessions of fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing for both sides of the face and subcision by CO2 gas for the right side scars only. Standardized photographs were taken before and three months after the last session and evaluated by two independent blinded dermatologists for the degree of improvement.Result: The right side of the face improved better than the left side and showed excellent improvement in 10% of cases that was statistically significant (p value=.003).Conclusion: Subcision via carboxytherapy accelerate the improvement of atrophic acne scars when combined with fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing.

Skin microneedling plus platelet-rich plasma versus skin microneedling alone in the treatment of atrophic post acne scars: a split face comparative study.

INTRODUCTION: Acne scarring is a permanent disfiguring sequel, which can take varied morphological forms. Many therapeutic measures have been performed to improve acne scarring such as microneedling. Our objective is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of microneedling alone versus microneedling combined with platelet rich plasma in the treatment of post acne. METHODS: The study included 35 patients with mild to severe post acne atrophic scar. All the patients received four sequential treatments of skin microneedling alone on the right side of the face and skin microneedling followed by topical application of platelet rich plasma (PRP) on the left side of the face with an interval of 3 weeks. Two blinded dermatologists evaluated the clinical response according to qualitative global acne scarring system grading of Goodman & Baron. Patients are queried about their satisfaction with the treatment outcomes. RESULTS: The study included 35 patients with a mean age of 24.7 ± 6.8 years. There was a significant improvement in the degree of scar severity before and after treatment on both the sides. Regarding patient's satisfaction grades, there was a significant improvement after both treatment modalities with insignificant differences between both treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Both microneedling and microneedling in combined with PRP showed satisfactory results.