Will punch excision work for my ice pick scars? (photo)

Punch excision is not currently a favored treatment of mine as it has the potential to make acne scars worse.  Essentially a scar is either removed with a punch or lifted with a punch and sutured to the skin.  

Acne scarring needs a combination approach for improvement.  Punch excisions and TCA cross work well for ice pick scars along with lasers and needling.  Best, Dr. Emer.

eMatrix combined with TCA cross and fillers such as Restylane will greatly reduce the scars and improve your complexion.  PRP with microneedling will also be a great adjunct to your skin care.  Please consult an expert.  Best, Dr. Green

Punch excision can help ice pick acne scars.  TCA cross can also be of benefit.  Always seek help from a qualified professional.  Good luck!

I have done punch excision and TCA cross. This might help you to a degree and that's possible. It's also possible that you may not get as much of a result from these. TCA cross can be a long recovery and sometimes it's hard to control. Sometimes you can get worsening of your scars. Punch excisions tends to leave patchiness on your face. Both approaches may require multiple treatments at different dates and points in time. Would you approach that can all be done in about 2 hours that treats all types of acne scarring with one treatment

Acne scar revision is a
specialised field. For the best results, one should target the acne scar type
with ideal treatments. Looking at your pictures, I believe you primarily have box car scars, I m sure you have a few ice pick ones, but the predominant type is box car. I use a lower concentration of TCA followed by laser resurfacing a few months after. To answer your question on ice pick scars, attached a video on scar treatments. For example deep ice pick scars, and narrow box car
scars can be treated with TCA CROSS peels, mixed scars, rolling, and atrophic
scars treated with fractional devices such as Fraxel, fractional lasers, and
INFINI radiofrequency. Atrophic scars (depressions) can be treated with either
fat grafts, or with HA dermal fillers. Tethered and anchored scars are best
treated with surgery.

The majority of patients
will have a collection of different scar types, and hence a tailored treatment
METHOD will be best. Careful examination, especially under angled lighting with
scar mapping will give you an understanding of what are the best options for
your scars.

All the best,

Dr Davin Lim

Laser, surgical &
aesthetic dermatologist

Brisbane, Australia