If you’ve struggled with acne scars and haven’t seen the results you want from creams, lasers, or needling, it’s time to consider acne scar surgery, a single procedure that combines all of the best and most aggressive treatments to create an amazing transformation. This procedure is only performed by a handful of the top cosmetic surgeons in the United States and represents the cutting-edge of combination therapy for acne scar treatments.
Cystic acne, or large, inflamed pustules, can damage not only the collagen support system of the skin, but also the underlying fat stores. When they are finally cleared away, they leave an empty pocket, causing the skin to sink in, creating boxcar or rolling scars. While the skin is healing, scar tissue can sometimes bind the skin to fibers below, creating deep, firm indents called ice-pick scars.
Quick Facts About Acne Scar Surgery
- Multiple options for extremely personalized results
- Comprehensive acne scar treatment
- Results that last a lifetime
- Dramatic improvements in a single procedure, rather than multiple weeks of treatment sessions
The Best Treatments to Include in Your Acne Scar Procedure
Finally, there’s a single procedure that produces dramatic results for repairing the damage of acne scars. Your treatment will combine the best and latest technologies and techniques to create a customized approach, which can include:
Fat Transfer
Fat is harvested from the stomach or love handles and is used to replace the lost fat in the indented scars (if a patient is too thin, or prefers not to have fat transfer, dermal fillers can be used in the same way).
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CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing
CO2 laser skin resurfacing thickens the skin, helps rebuild collagen, and removes dark discoloration. We use our strongest CO2 lasers, the Lutronic eCO2 or the Fraxel Re:Pair CO2, for this procedure, to create the most dramatic results.
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RF Microneedling
RF microneedling remodels collagen below the skin’s surface to destroy scar tissue and trigger the growth of new collagen support under the skin for a smooth, soft surface.
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“I have multiple types of scars on my face-adult acne with ice pick scars and tethering scars....He performed this one month ago and my results are show-stopping - I now have soft, smooth skin and it's only been 5 weeks. I will continue to get more improvements over the next 8 months....”
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“I have visited doctors in the past promising me perfection with additional procedures and upselling, and this was not the case at all with Reflections.”
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View More Acne Scars Treatment Before & After Results
More Before & Afters
Why Our Doctors are the Best Acne Scar Surgeons in New Jersey
It’s rare to find cosmetic surgeons doing this kind of work, and even more rare to find ones who have the skill and access to all of the non-surgical treatments that are needed to be able to treat all kinds of acne scars on all skin types, in the very best ways. When it comes to treating acne scars, each technique or technology, really only does one or two things very well, and usually only for a very small set of patients. So to be able to treat each individual with the best possible treatments, you need a big skill set and lots of expensive technologies. What makes Reflections so different is that we own over 70 different lasers and technologies and we use them each for the very few things they do absolutely best.
What makes our practice even rarer is that Dr. Wix-Harris actively treats acne, too. Meaning she can take you from the beginning of your journey getting your breakouts under control, all the way up to the most intensive acne scar removal treatment, acne scar surgery. To have that kind of skill and expertise in an individual is incredibly rare, but it’s exactly what a patient who has significant acne scars they want to treat and is still suffering from breakouts, truly needs.
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Read MoreFrequently Asked Questions About Acne Scar Surgery
- What is it like to have acne scar surgery? Is it like real surgery?
Acne scar surgery is performed under Comfort Calm™ local anesthesia, so you are completely relaxed, but not under general anesthesia during this surgery. Most patients are awake throughout the procedure, but the calming music, dark lighting, and soft blankets of our private surgical suite often lull patients to sleep during the procedure.
This surgery can take between 1-3 hours, depending on the number of scars and severity of scarring which needs to be treated.
- What does acne scar surgery cost?
This acne scar surgery combines fat transfer and surgical laser skin resurfacing and is the only procedure to provide truly comprehensive treatment for each individual scar. Because the surgery is based on the severity and number of your individual acne scars, it is impossible to give you an exact price quote here. However, in general, this procedure tends to cost $4,000-$7,000, depending on which combination of therapies are used.
When you consider that dermal fillers tend to cost $650-$800 per syringe and only last around a year, and that a series of laser treatments typically runs $2,000 or more, and that even if you combined dermal fillers and lasers, you wouldn’t have the same level of transformation or longevity of result, the true value of this procedure really comes to light.
Full financing for acne scar surgery is available under the financing tab of the menu above, or by clicking here.
- What's the recovery like after acne scar surgery?
There is increased downtime with this treatment when compared to less aggressive non-surgical acne scar treatments. Patients should expect to take 5-7 days off from work, social, and physical activities to recover. Redness, swelling, and bruising are expected during the recovery process from acne scar surgery. Your surgeon will give you detailed instructions on what to do to maximize your results and minimize your recovery time. This is the most aggressive treatment for acne scars, but the recovery is well worth it once you see the amazing results.
Dr. Renata Wix-Harris has extensive experience as a general surgeon and work in the plastic surgery department has helped to her to become an excellent laser liposuction surgeon. She is also skilled at laser and energy-based skin therapies, injectables, and non-invasive body contouring.
