LAM FACIAL PLASTICS

Hi Dr. Lam,

I am a 25-year-old asian female. I had an outbreak of acne when I was about 16 that left me with what I think are boxcar scars. They are mostly on my right cheek. I don't have any rolling scars, and I don't think I have any that are deep enough to be icepick scars either. Even though they seem to be of the shallow type, they also seem to be getting worse and more noticeable as I get older. =( I have included two pictures for you to see. Although I know that scars cannot be 100% erased, I am hoping that they can be improved. Based on my pictures, do you think that you can help me? And if yes, what treatment do you think is best? TCA cross? Silicone injections?

Thank you so much.

yes, based on the photos it looks as if CROSS would be your best bet.
sml

About how many sessions do you think I would need? Also, based on your prior experience with scars similar to mine, about how much of an improvement can I expect?

between 1 to 3 rounds spread really far apart like every 3 months to minimize over correction. i cannot quote percentages only because everyone's perception of percentage is different but i am confident that you should have some nice changes (just not perfect).
best,
sml

Thank you, doctor. =) I am so glad to hear that from you. I will make an appointment with you soon.

Also, since I'm asian (I am pretty tanned), I am prone to scarring. Will the cross method leave me with dark scars on my face? Honestly, I think that a bit of discoloring is better than the indentations that I have right now, so I'm willing to take the chance. But if there IS discoloring, is there a treatment that can be performed afterwards to fade it?

that can happen but it has always been temporary as a problem. yes, medical strength bleaching can help like 4% hydroquinone or equivalent. i would not do that until at least a month after a treatment to make sure it does not irritate the healing skin.
best,
sml