Many of us have suffered with acne as teenagers but expect that once we reach our post-college years, the condition will fade and disappear. However, every year countless adults will seek a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia for treatment of this skin condition.
How Does Acne Start?
Our skin contains oil glands. When these glands are functioning normally, we have healthy, glowing skin. When the pore leading to one of these glands is blocked, bacteria build up in the gland and we get whitehead or blackheads. These may heal normally or the side of the pore might rupture, causing white blood cells to enter and creating an inflammatory blemish which most people call a pimple. The rupture is most likely to occur if the blemishes are picked at or "popped."
The most serious type of acne is cystic acne. This stage occurs when an acne blemish becomes severely inflamed and the pore collapses completely. While cystic acne presents no health dangers, it has the potential to create severe scarring. Plastic surgeons can reverse this scarring, but they can also treat acne before the scars appear.
Light Skin Creams
Many creams and ointment exist designed to balance skin chemistry and unblock pores, preventing or treating acne outbreaks. These products when used in combination with good skin hygiene and consultation with a skin professional provide excellent results for most acne sufferers. Other treatments exist to help patients with more serious outbreaks.
Photodynamic therapies such as Levulan treat acne and other skin conditions by applying specialized light-sensitive chemical compounds to the skin and the activating them by directing specific wavelengths of light onto the skin's surface. The light allows doctors to activate the treatment and localize it very precisely, since the chemical will work only in the areas exposed to the narrow beam of light. This precision makes photodynamic chemical therapy safer than other drug therapies since only the skin needing treatment absorbs the compound.
Acne Laser Scar Treatment
When acne has advanced to the cystic stage and has left behind scars or pitting, plastic surgeons offer a number of options that reduce or eliminate acne scars. Some of the best clinical results have been achieved using fractionated laser therapy.
Laser scar treatment is particularly suited for acne scarring. Unlike scars from injury or surgery, acne scars often leave pits. Removing scar tissue is only part of the treatment. Fractionated lasers stimulate the underlying tissues into producing collagen, which rebuilds the skin and fills in acne scar sites. The result is smoother skin and greatly reduced scarring.
Laser procedures work very quickly and have little downtime. Side effects are few -- the most common of which is a slight redness that is similar to a mild sunburn.
If you are suffering from acne as an adult, there are options to suffering and embarrassment. When creams and home treatments just don't seem to be working, it may be time to consult a plastic surgeon. The more quickly acne treatment begins, the more effective the results.
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