Acne Journey. Subcision has truly released the tethered scarring

My acne/scarring journey is a long one, so I’ll try to condense it as much as possible. I am a 46 year old female. I started getting deep, cystic acne nodules in my late teens. Sometimes they would come to the surface of my skin so I’d pick endlessly, while other times they remained dormant, albeit sore and feeling like hard marbles. I tried every acne cream and product over the counter, all to no avail. As I entered my twenties I decided to take serious action, so I asked my local dermatologist if she would consider putting me on accutane (up until this point she had me try Retin-a, as well as tetracycline, however nothing was effective), and she agreed. While the 5 month course of accutane was effective at controlling my acne, I was left with rolling acne scars. 

In my thirties I was financially in a position to do something about the scarring, so I started with micro needling and subcision. While I feel like the multiple micro needling sessions helped with the shallower scars, beyond a shadow of a doubt it was the subcision as that truly released the tethered scarring that forms rolling, saucer type scarring. The key is to be patient and persistent! I have had 7 (or maybe 8?) subcisions during the course of 10 years with Dr. Rapaport in New Jersey. I can hear the nokor needle as well as the cannula, breaking up the fibrous tissue that bounds the scar in a “popping” sound. Dr. Rapaport accompanies PRP after he performs subcisions to promote further healing. After the 3rd day of the procedure I suction every day for 2 weeks. This helps to prevent the re-tethering of the scars, and after every subcision I get gradual improvement. 

PLEASE don’t give up or become discouraged with your scarring as something can be done about it! I’ve spent many years reading this forum as well as acne.org to see the latest treatments available, but the one thing I can tell you is that subcision is the best procedure if you have rolling scars. It has been a long, expensive journey, but I am grateful to Dr. Rapaport for his expertise and knowledge in the field of acne scarring.