Muotosairaala offers the widest range of acne scar treatments in Finland.
Acne can leave unpleasant scars that may bother you socially and affect your self-confidence and quality of life significantly. The scars cannot be fully removed, but they can often be clearly faded to be less of a bother.
When treating acne scars, realism is important: the scars reducing by 50-70% in size is an excellent result. Achieving this usually requires multiple rounds of treatment and combination treatment.
Fractional Carbon Dioxide Laser and Fractional Combined Laser
The fractional CO2 laser was previously the golden standard when treating acne scars. However, combination laser treatments have become the new standard during the last few years.
The DEKA DuoGlide Laser combines the fractional ablative carbon dioxide laser with the fractional non-ablative 1540 nm laser, increasing the power while not affecting safety. This device received an award at the AWMC World Congress in Monaco.
A good result usually takes 2-4 rounds of treatment.
Scar Punch Excision
Scar punch excision is a small surgical procedure to treat depressed scars and make the skin more even and smoother before laser treatment.
In this procedure, depressed scars around 2-4 mm in size are surgically removed with local anesthesia. One stitch is made in each scar.
The procedure is equivalent to a skin biopsy, and it is done as part of combination treatment at around 1-2 weeks before acne scar laser.
Acne Scar Subcision
Acne scar subcision is a small procedure to treat wider depressed scars.
In the procedure, the base of the scar is detached from the skin under it with a small needle, resulting in the scar becoming more even. The procedure, done as part of combination treatment, is done with local anesthesia, often right before acne laser treatment.
TCA CROSS (Chemical Reconstruction of Skin Scars)
TCA CROSS is a treatment in which strong TCA acid is used to treat sharp depressed scars individually.
The treatment causes a reaction that raises the base of the deep scar and makes it rounded, resulting in the scar becoming less visible. This takes around 1-3 months. The treatment can be done alone, but it is usually done as part of combination treatment, right before acne laser treatment.
Medium-deep or deep whole skin acid peeling can be used to treat acne scars as well.
Vascular Laser Treatment
Vascular laser treatment is beneficial if the acne scars appear red, but the scar surfaces are even and smooth. Here, the laser treatment can be done alone as the only treatment. However, it can be done as part of combination treatment of acne scars as well.
Hyaluronic Acid Filler Injections and Collagen Stimulating Injection Treatments
Hyaluronic acid filler injections and collagen stimulating injection treatments (for example, calcium hydroxyapatite, i.e. Sculptra) are useful when treating depressed acne scars.
The result of hyaluronic acid injections is instant, and the result of Sculptra can be seen during the following 2-4 months. The treatment doesn’t require a specific healing period.
Sculptra treatment can be done with laser treatment as well.
The results of injection treatments are not permanent; they last for around 1-2 years, depending on the substance.
Microneedling
Microneedling is a serial treatment in which the skin is improved with needling. The resulting microtrauma enhances the collagen synthesis of the skin and improve the structure of it.
The treatment is typically done in a series of 3-6 treatments, and healing takes only 1-2 days.
Microneedling can be combined with other scar treatments to enhance them.
