ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acne scarring is a common dermatologic problem causing a great cosmetic disfigurement. Subcision is one of the effective modalities for treatment of rolling acne scars. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of subcision for rolling acne scars in Iraqi patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty patients (21 males and 19 females) with moderate to severe grades of facial rolling acne scars were enrolled in this study. Subcision was done for all patients. Patients were followed up at 2, 6, 12 weeks, and 6 months after the last session. The response to treatment was evaluated by objective and subjective methods. RESULTS: Thirty-four patients completed the study and follow up period. Eight of them were complaining of severe and 26 of moderate grade of acne scars. At the end of the study, 18 (52.94%) patients had mild grade, 15 (44.11%) patients had moderate grade, and one (2.92%) patient had severe grade. This change was statistically highly significant (P-value = 0.0000001). The average scar score before treatment was 13.264 ± 1.675; and it improved to 9.47 ± 2.71 after 6 months (P-value = 0.0000001). Regarding the photographic assessment, the difference in the visual analogue scale before and after the treatment was statistically highly significant (P-value = 0.0000001). All patients were satisfied regarding the improvement after treatment with varying degrees. All reported side-effects were mild and transient. CONCLUSION: Subcision is a safe, easy to perform, well-tolerated, and valuable surgical technique for treatment of rolling acne scars.