Treatment of Atrophic Facial Acne Scars With Microneedling Followed by Polymethylmethacrylate-Collagen Gel Dermal Filler

BACKGROUND Microneedling and soft-tissue filler injections have been used independently to improve acne scarring. The effectiveness of a combined approach using microneedling followed by polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-collagen gel has not been carefully studied. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of microneedling alone versus microneedling followed by injection of PMMA-collagen gel filler for correction of atrophic facial acne scars. METHODS We conducted a multicenter, open-label, randomized, prospective study on subjects with distensible atrophic acne scars in the face to determine whether microneedling with PMMA-collagen gel is a superior acne scar treatment over microneedling alone. Forty-four subjects received 3 microneedling treatments over a 12-week period followed by randomization to treatments with PMMA-collagen gel (treatment group) or no further treatment (control group). RESULTS At 24 weeks, the treatment group achieved a statistically significant improvement in acne scores over microneedling alone. The improvement continued at 36 weeks. At 24 weeks, the treatment group showed a strong trend in improvement on the Physician Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale compared with microneedling alone. Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Brian K. Pilcher, PhD, 1411 Rodessa Run, Rochester, NC 27607, or e-mail: brian.pilcher@criticalmassmd.com This study was funded by Suneva Medical, San Diego, CA. B.S. Biesman, M.H. Gold, G.D. Monheit, and T.E. Schlesinger are paid consultants for Suneva Medical and investigators on this study. B.S. Biesman received a stipend for manuscript development. J.L. Cohen, B.E. DiBernardo, J.J. Emer, R.G. Geronemus, and C.F. Teller were investigators for this study. B.K. Pilcher is a paid consultant, and A.S. Lehman is an employee of Suneva Medical. © 2019 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

https://ift.tt/2GYxKe8