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Deep FX for Unevenness and Acne Scarring?

I had very bad cystic acne on my face. I actually had deep CO2 Laser treatment in 1998. It helped about 25% to 30% but I still have a lot of unevenness and scarring, plus now I am aging. Will Deep FX help at all? If not, what else can I do to even out the scars?

Doctor Answers 4

FX Laser for acne: add Sculptra

August 19th, 2009
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The FX laser works very well for aging and acne scars. I have been getting even better results by adding in several vials of the filler Sculptra. Each works well alone but the combination is even better. Sculptra will increase the collagen in the face at a different level than the laser. It helps to fill things out from below so your makeup will sit smoother. Since your last laser was over 10 years ago you should have no trouble with the FX laser.

Janet M. Neigel, MD


Florham Park Oculoplastic Surgeon
4.6 out of 5 stars 21 reviews

Deep FX can help with acne scars...

December 10th, 2016
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Thank you for your question. I have had the DeepFX laser for 9 years now. We have treated many patients with acne scars. Some get great improvement some very little. It is hard to predict how much but in general, the deeper the scar the less impressive are the results with DeepFX. Scars with sharp edges do not see much improvement with DeepFX and we prefer to use a permanent filler such as Bellafill and dermabrasion for more effective therapy.


I hope this helps, good luck.

Ivan Wayne, MD

Ivan Wayne, MD
Oklahoma City Facial Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 61 reviews

Deep FX is one of the top CO2 Fractional lasers

October 1st, 2014
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Yes, Deep FX along with CO2 CORE are great lasers with a long history of great reviews and company backing. Deep FX is the more powerful of the two, and in my opinion will help greatly with your type of acne scars. They sound like rolling acne scars. In this case its the depth of laser that counts, and not the total surface area.
You may require 2-4 treatments, depending on the severity. Redness or other side effects depends on the depth, energy levels, coverage, skin type and any pre existing skin conditions you may have.

I do agree with the bottom comment about adding fillers such as Sculptra as this helps with stubborn rolling and atrophic scars.

Dr Davin Lim
Laser and cosmetic dermatologist
Brisbane and Gold Coast
Australia
Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD

Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD
Brisbane Dermatologist
4.7 out of 5 stars 77 reviews

Fractional CO2 Laser, a new gold standard for laser resurfacing for acne scarring and rejuvenation

August 18th, 2009
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Fractional CO2 Laser has become the new gold standard for laser resurfacing for acne scarring, wrinkles, and sun damage. The ablative CO2 laser resurfacing had been the prior gold standard treatment; however, the requirement for general anesthesia and associated downtime has made the traditional CO2 laser resurfacing less desirable. Fractional CO2 laser allows for the CO2 laser energy to be delivered in a fractionated fashion to dramatically shorten downtime 5-6 days and achieve significant smoothing of skin texture and rejuvenation of an aging skin with one treatment.

There is not that much difference between the existing Fractional CO2 Lasers (Deep/Active/Total Fx, Mixto, Fraxel Repair, etc) and they all perform fairly comparably. The key is to find an experienced physician with a team approach to customize a series of pre-op and post-op care routine to maximize your clinical outcome. Different parameters such as the depths of laser penetration, density of penetration, energy released, number of passes for particular anatomic region vary for different skin types and different priorities of the patients. Ideally, you should be under the care of a board-certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon who has performed at least 50 cases of your skin type and know exactly what to do in order to prevent and manage complications.

Web reference: http://www.drwilliamting.com/What_s_New.html

William Ting, MD

William Ting, MD
Bay Area Dermatologic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 12 reviews

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.