Acne scar treatment

I have struggled with acne scars since I was 15! I tried so many other methods to remedy it over the years with little result. I felt so fortunate to find a compassionate doctor who specializes in acne scars. Doctor Sadove met with me three times via Zoom prior to our procedure to make sure he thoroughly understood my skin and its needs. Him and his staff were very patient and kind with wonderful bedside manner. I’ll be updating this post for 3 months as I document my progress.

December 28, 2023:
- fat grafting from side flank
- blood drawn for prp
- face marked in problem areas to focus
- excision performed on 5 areas of the face
- subscion and fat injection performed on both cheeks
- laser performed on small area of forehead (doctor was very generous to offer this!)
Summary of procedure:
This was such an interesting procedure to be fully conscious for! Doctor Sadove and his assistant were wonderful with thoroughly explaining everything being performed. It was an intimidating procedure that they made me feel calm during. I felt like I was in good hands. The most painful part of this process was the needle injections for the local anesthesia. Besides that, the doctor made it fairly painless. As you can see in the pictures, I was very swollen post procedure. The anesthesia also made my vision a bit blurry for a while, and they were nice enough to let me relax a bit so I could be more comfortable for my drive home. The most painful part post procedure is the fat donor site on my side. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic and optional pain medication. More updates to come!

Swelling is reduced. Face looks asymmetrical currently as more swelling seems to be on my right then left, but their post op instructions mentioned that could happen so I’m not yet concerned. I feel slightly nervous of how the excisions will heal since it looks like skin around the excision is raised. Only time will tell! Skin coloration looks surprisingly nice with little bruising. The small area between my eyebrows that was lasered hasn’t caused any pain and I feel it will heal nicely! I’m taking antibiotics prescribed twice daily and opted to not take the pain medication as pain is bearable. There is a bit of a dent on my hip where the fat was taken but it’s still early so it may fill in with time. Next update will be on my first post op appointment on January 9th as the doctor takes my stitches out of the excision site. You can see images from 2 days post op.

Stitches were removed and the Doctor placed a type of scar bandage on my excisions which will stay on for 4 days. Acne scars look great still. Much softer. Hoping that continues. One cheek seemed to have kept more of the fat injections than the other. So I look a bit asymmetrical as my right cheek is larger then my left. I mentioned this to the doctor and he said it was too early to be concerned. He said to avoid being obsessive and spending too much time in the mirror. To give the face enough time to heal and for the bruises and fat injections to settle. I’ll be doing my best to be patient! I’ll share updates on how the excision scars heal and how the cheeks settle from the subscion and fat grafting. More to come!