This patient presented with active inflammatory acne with early acne scarring and post-inflammatory changes. Because ongoing breakouts can continue to create new scars, controlling the active acne was the first priority.
Treatment with isotretinoin (Accutane) resulted in significant improvement in active acne. The residual acne scars visible in the after photograph were not treated in this case and therefore remain. This distinction is important: clearing acne and treating acne scars are two separate stages of care.
Early and effective treatment of persistent inflammatory acne may help reduce the development of additional permanent scarring. Once acne is controlled, residual scars can be evaluated individually and, when desired, treated with options such as fractional CO2 laser resurfacing, microneedling, subcision, or combination acne scar treatments.
