Acne normally leaves scars on the face that are sometimes quite difficult to get rid of. The most predominant form of acne scars is known as ice pick scars that are easily noticeable due to its crater like appearance on the face. They may appear small but are deep with a scraggy edge and steep sides. This type of scar gives an outward or visible appearance like a hole in this skin. It looks as if the skin has been pierced by an ice pick and hence the name. These particular kinds of scars are due to the result of an inflammatory eruption such as a deep pimple or cyst.
Ice pick scars are usually the most difficult to treat and one of the most common methods of getting rid of them is through laser resurfacing. In laser resurfacing the affected skin is treated to a high energy beam of light that targets the ice pick scars on the skin. In doing so, laser resurfacing helps to destroy the outer layers of the skin also known as an ablative technique. It is believed to be one of the most efficient ways of dealing with ice pick scars, albeit expensive than other techniques.
Dermatologists believe that facial ice pick scars can be safely and effectively removed through the high energy densities emitted by laser systems. Laser resurfacing is known to offer approximately 50 to 80 percent of scar improvements. A combination of techniques are also employed by some dermatologists, which include resurfacing peels, micro-dermabrasion (by anesthetizing the skin surface and then sanding or scraping off some of the outer skin layer), CO2 and erbium laser, fillers such as HAs, radiesse, sculptra etc., and ablative surgery for ice pick scar excision.
A certain amount of epidermis that has been affected with ice pick scars as well as the papillary dermis is evaporated by a typical laser resurfacing technique. It is also important to note that there are numerous side-effects and fallouts to laser resurfacing, and these must be duly considered before opting to choose laser as the selected option of getting rid of ice pick scars. Some specific side-effects include intense abnormal redness of the skin resulting from dilation of blood vessels, excessive accumulation of watery fluid, and fluid discharge.
There have also been reports of rare yet serious complications resulting from laser skin resurfacing such as unusual lack of skin color, hypertrophic burn marks, disseminated infection, and an unnatural inversion of the eyelids.
answered by G M