Bryan K. Chen, MD

I recently completed my third treatment of Saline Subcision for rolling scars from Dr. Chen. I have suffered primarily from hormonal acne, so most of my acne scars were around my chin area and mouth. So far I am pretty happy with the results! I would say that after the third treatment I see a 50% improvement in the appearance of my rolling scars. It is important to mention that collagen remodeling happens for about a year, so the full benefits of the treatment won't be fully visible until another 6 months or so. I chose Dr. Chen over other dermatologists because he has a more conservative approach that resonates with my personal belief. I was formerly a pre-med student and I know too much about the possible complications that can result from laser treatments, especially if you are not a Fitzpatrick Level I skin, (aka very fair). These include increased scarring, hyper and hypo pigmentation changes, orange-peel skin, and even fat loss. Yes you read that right, I said fat-loss, that's volume loss in your face. I know many dermatologists are adamant about admitting this especially when they are trying to sell you on the most expensive treatment available out there (laser), but it's important that you do your research and take into account your skin type and skin color before jumping on this option. Unfortunately, the most expensive and risky treatment, is NOT always the most effective. If you read through some of these realself reviews, you'll find many people who have experienced very adverse results from these more aggressive approaches.

When it comes to skin, I think the most conservative approach is the most effective. I was happy to find a dermatologist that doesn't oversell me on anything, is cautious and meticulous with his approach, and most importantly...Won't expose me to unnecessary risk to get me the results and improvement I am looking for. I will continue to see Dr. Chen for all of my future cosmetic needs.

Updated on 2 Jun 2016:
Overall I am "pleased" with the results from the saline subcision I had. I think the overall improvement of my rolling acne scars was about 20% post treatment. It's definitely a nice addition to a "multi-modality" approach for the resolution/improvement of some acne scars. With all that being said, I am currently seeing another dermatologist that can employ a much more aggressive treatment approach. She is Dr.Fabi at cosmetic laser dermatology in San Diego, CA.

I have to admit that I got bigger and greater results from belotero injections (hyaluronic acid filler) than I did from the actual saline subcision. Dr.Fabi will also do "traditional subcision" followed by fraxel re:pair. The combined improvement of my acne scars from both the saline sibcision and fillers are at 50%, with some smaller ones completely "gone. " Hopefully with the traditional subcision (more aggressive) and the fraxel re:pair it should bump me up to an 80% improvement.

Dr.Fabi was also slightly dissapointed by the saline sibcision as some deep tethered scars need to be revisited with traditional subcision. The "saline" was not strong enough to cut those deeply tethered scars.

At the moment I do not have before/after photos because I was so self conscious about my skin that I avoided photos at all costs. I will however take before/after photos before my subcision/fraxel re:pair with Dr.Favi :-)

Thanks for reading!!! My laser treatment will be done September 2016.

Previously, I have had botox for the glabella/forehead area before. But I also was bothered by the "golf ball chin" and my wider jaw. I actually found him from the realself website where he wrote a response about botox being used for the jaw/chin. I decided to try it and he did a great job! Everyone is different but for my case, I needed about 15 units of botox for each side of my jaw and I think 10 units in my chin. It made my face look a lot slimmer, and my chin didn't protrude as much. It can take several visits (again everyone is different), but after a year, I really am happy with the results. Picking the right doctor for this kind of procedure is very important because it's not as common as botox to the forehead or eye area. Dr. Chen has a great understanding of anatomy and knows exactly where to inject (very important because there are side effect if it's done incorrectly including drooping of the mouth/lip). There's almost an element of art to it, as the procedure does change your face shape/appearance. Overall, it was painless and worth the results. I highly recommend going to Dr. Chen, he is the best!

Dr Chen recommended Accutane and after 6 months of it, I am finally clear. I finally can look into the mirror without crying.

I went into Dr. Chen for my annual mole check. He found one that was questionable and wanted to remove it. I am absolutely terrified of needles or anything that has to do with them so I wasn't too happy about the removal, BUT, he was amazing. He was extremely quick about the whole thing, I barely had time to freak out about it. It has been about a week since the removal and I only have a tiny scar which is awesome because I have had way worse from previous doctors.

Removal of several keratosis that were ugly, itchy, and bled when scratched. The closest "service provided" on the list above was "mole removal."