What it means for a patient
- Acne scars are either depressed (atrophic) or raised (hypertrophic or keloid). Each type has its own treatments.
- Depressed scars are treated with peels, skin resurfacing, lasers, needling, punch techniques or grafting.
- Raised scars are treated with silicone gel, steroid injections, freezing or surgery.
- Treatments are often combined for depressed scars.
- This is a review. The abstract does not report results for any treatment.
Why this paper matters
It gathered the causes, classification and treatment options for acne scars, sorted by scar type.
Overview
Acne affects most adolescents and continues into adulthood in some people. Inflammatory acne can leave scars, and these scars can affect social life and relationships. The authors summarize how acne scars form, how they are classified and how they are treated.
Findings
- Acne prevalence among adolescents: over 90%.
- Persistence into adulthood: about 12% to 14%.
- Acne scars can have a negative psychological effect on social life and relationships.
- The main types are atrophic scars and hypertrophic scars.
- How acne scars form is still not fully understood; several hypotheses have been proposed.
- Treatments for atrophic scars: chemical peels, dermabrasion and microdermabrasion, laser treatment, punch techniques, dermal grafting, needling and combined therapies.
- Treatments for hypertrophic and keloid scars: silicone gels, steroid injections into the scar, cryotherapy and surgery.
- The abstract gives no outcome data and does not compare treatments.
Terms
- Atrophic scar: a depressed scar that sits below the surrounding skin.
- Hypertrophic scar: a raised scar that stays within the edges of the original wound.
- Keloid: a raised scar that grows beyond the edges of the original wound.
- Pathogenesis: how a condition develops.
- Chemical peel: an acid applied to the skin to remove its outer layers.
- Dermabrasion: sanding down the outer layers of skin to smooth it.
- Punch techniques: removing or lifting a single scar with a small round blade.
- Needling: making many tiny punctures in the skin with fine needles to prompt new collagen.
- Cryotherapy: freezing tissue to treat it.
- Intralesional steroid: a steroid injected directly into the scar.