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About Face

Chapter Four Acne Scarring Types of Scars Scar Treatments Dermabrasion Injections Dermal Punch Grafting Excision Face-lift

Face-lift

The fifth, and final, way of treating acne scarring is to perform a face-lift. Twenty years ago, when I started in my career, this was the only technique at hand for dealing with the undulation or “wash-board” effect of excessive scarring deep in the skin. The trouble is, it’s a temporary sort of solution because all that a face-lift can effect in this instance is a “stretching” of the subcutaneous scar in an effort to camouflage the rippling below. It’s a bit like making the bed without bothering to smooth the bottom sheets first: the creases will show through once all the covers are settled into place.

Today, facial cosmetic surgeons will work on this sort of acne scarring by changing the appearance of the rippling or depressions of the skin by simply injecting three-dimensional volume fillers, such as collagen. Whatever the approach, the past two decades have advanced our ability to treat acne scarring to the extend that the face-lift is now rarely used as a technique.

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