For many patients, once acne lesions clear up or are removed, they leave behind discolorations and indentations on the skin. In many cases, acne can lead to scarring, especially if it is severe. Scars may form after acne has healed and cleared, and may vary from person to person. Some people may have small flat scars that are not very noticeable and others may suffer from more visible and indented scars on the face or affected area.
Acne scarring is most often caused by larger acne lesions, such as cysts or nodules, which can swell and rupture, causing a break in the wall of the individual pore. Infected material from the inflamed lesion can spill out through this break and can affect the nearby healthy tissue, leading to the appearance of a scar.
Your provider at AllPhases Dermatology will tailor treatment to you – treating acne scars is often a complex process that sometimes involves several different treatments. Potential treatments include:
- Tissue fillers to fill in depressed scars for a smoother appearance
- Dermabrasion to remove surface scars or lessen the appearance of deeper scars
- Laser treatments to burn away the skin's surface layer and produce new skin cells
- Punch excision surgery to remove indented scars which may include a skin graft