Maui Acne Clinic Procedures

Dr. Ly may prescribe topical creams, gels, or lotions with vitamin A acid-like drugs, benzoyl peroxide, or antibiotics to help unblock the pores and reduce bacteria. These products may cause some drying and peeling. She will advise you about correct usage and how to handle side effects.

This procedure greatly speeds acne clearing and appearance by manually removing blackheads and whiteheads. A round loop extractor is used to apply uniform smooth pressure to dislodge the material. Lesions that offer resistance are loosened by inserting a pointed instrument to carefully expose the contents.

Do not pick, scratch, pop, or squeeze pimples yourself. When the pimples are squeezed, more redness, swelling, inflammation, and scarring may result.

If one or several painful acne cysts develop, fast relief is available with this relatively painless procedure. Each cyst is given a single injection of a dilute cortisone solution, using an ultrathin needle.

In 1982 a new oral medication, isotretinoin (Accutane), became available for the treatment of patients with severe acne not responsive to conventional treatments. The duration of treatment is usually 5 months, and one such course is often curative of acne forever. Use of this medication does require a thorough understanding of its side effects and precautions (e.g. the prevention of pregnancy).

Prior to correcting acne scarring, it is generally advisable to wait until acne activity has been low or absent for several months. Scars improve with time as the body softens their appearance. The color contrast is often the most troublesome aspect of resolving large acne blemishes. These lesions may leave a flat or depressed red scar that is so obvious, patients mistake the mark for an active lesion. The color will fade and approach skin tones in 4 to 12 months. Many patients are self-conscious about the pitted and crater-like scars that do not fade. These remain as a permanent record of previous severe acne. Cosmetic Surgeons offer a variety of procedures to remove or revise these marks.

Superficial acne scarring, and irregular pigmentation of the skin are easily treated with this technique. Chemical agents are applied to the skin that cause the outer layer to be removed. Different chemicals and concentrations are used, depending on a patient's skin type and degree of scarring.

Microdermabrasion can be likened to a superficial "skin polishing" using micro-crystals vacuumed over your skin's surface to remove damaged skin cells. These gentle treatments can provide noticeable improvement to acne scars. The treatments are progressive and are applied through a course of weekly sessions.

Non-Ablative Laser Treatments do not require anesthesia, as they are not painful and there is no downtime. Most patients receive a series of about 5 treatments. Depending on the type of acne scar, improvement can be dramatic. The improvement is gradual and continues to improve even after the treatment stops.