An objective assessment of microneedling therapy in atrophic facial acne scars

CONTEXT: Microneedling therapy is one of the recent advances in treating acne facial scars. AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of microneedling therapy in the treatment of atrophic acne facial scars. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A total number of 10 patients between the age group of 20 and 40 years (8 women and 2 men) who complained of acne scars from November 2012 to August 2014 were selected for the study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Microneedling therapy was performed following the application of the Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics in an interval of 2 months. All patients underwent three sessions. A follow-up of 2 months after the last sitting was carried out. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Cochran's Q-paired test, Kendall's W-test, and Pearson's correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Patients in our study had three forms of acne scars: box-scar, icepick form, and rolling scars. Patients were told to rate the outcome of the treatment at the end of the follow-up. Three observers randomly selected were shown the pre- and postoperative photographs of the patients to rate the treatment outcome. Statistically there was no interobserver bias. Ninety percent reduction in number of scars and depth of scars was noted at the end of three sittings. The improvement in pigmentation was insignificant. Seventy percent improvement in the skin texture was noted. Nine patients suffered from transient postinflammatory erythema and six patients had postoperative swelling. CONCLUSION: Microneedling therapy is a safe and effective method of treating acne scars.