Depending upon the procedure you will be having you may or may not need sedation. We will cover common acne scar removal methods below:
* Microdermabrasion or Macrodermabrasion: This procedure does not require sedation and is performed in-office as a "lunch time" procedure. Although you may or may not wish to return to work, you will not have excessive downtime on a typical treatment. Microdermabrasion is a particle exfoliation procedure utilizing aluminum or magnesium oxide crystals in the 90 to 120 grit range. The microdermabrasion machine uses a closed system that exfoliates the skin using a mild to medium blasting mechanism through a negative pressure nozzle. Although the exfoliating medium is blasted onto your skin, the negative pressure sucks the crystals back up so there is little mess. The stratum corneum is removed via particle exfoliation and the light suction on the skin increases circulation curing the procedure. This procedure is designed to be carried out over several consecutive sessions for optimal results. One treatment is usually not sufficient to make a noticeable difference in improvement.
* Chemical Peels: There are many types of chemical peels, from home peels using alpha hydroxy acids or low strength trichloroacetic acid (TCA), to high strength TCA and phenol peels. Depending upon the depth it will penetrate and the chemical to be applied you may or may not need sedation. More than likely any TCA peel over 12% will be done in a doctor's, however home peels can be up 25% if you are experienced and have had several lower strengths without ill effect. Without proper skin prepping with lower strengths and topical medications, you can cause irreversible damage in the form of hyper- and hypopigmentation and scarring. Do not attempt medium to high strengths at home unless you are absolutely experienced and your skin is properly prepared.
* Intense Pulsed Light: Usually no topical anesthesia is required but many patients do prefer an EMLA (ectatic mixture of local anesthetics) beforehand if their doctor allows it. The procedure involves several to many flashes of very intense light which may sting a bit without anesthesia.
* Laser Resurfacing: Deep laser treatments require anesthesia due to the level of pain which is felt during the procedure
* Non-ablative Laser Treatments:
* Punch Graft: This requires removing a small, oval piece of skin that contains the scar and sewing the hole closed.
* Injectable Fillers:
* Dermabrasion:.
* Skin Lifting: This may be any sort of mini, or full-scale lifting technique. The procedure depends upon where you acne cars are located.
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