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Immediately after treatment:
- Immediately after punch techniques, the doctor covers the sutured wound with an antibiotic cream and a sterile bandage to protect the wound from infection.
- In addition, after punch elevation, the doctor covers the wound with sterile-strips (small bandaids used to pull a wound together) to increase the chances that the elevated skin is at the same height as the surrounding skin.
Days and weeks after treatment:
- In the days after treatment, the patient should gently clean the treated skin with soap and water twice a day and apply antibiotic cream.2
- After 7 days, the doctor needs to remove the stitches.2
Longer term:
- Once the doctor removes the stitches, you will see new pink-colored linear scars on the skin. These scars will fade with time. In the meantime, it is important to protect the scarred skin from the sun by applying sunscreen.2
- For punch grafting only: When the wounds have healed, the grafted skin may still look noticeably different from the surrounding skin. To help even out the color of the skin, the patient may undergo dermabrasion or laser treatment 4-6 weeks after punch grafting.2
References
- Levy LL, and Zeichner JA. Management of acne scarring, part II. A comparative review of non-laser-based, minimally invasive approaches. Am J Clin Dermatol. 13(5), 331-340 (2012).
- Jacob CI, Dover JS, and Kaminer MS. Acne scarring: a classification system and review of treatment options. J Am Acad Dermatol. 45(1),109-17 (2001).
- Faghihi G, et al. Efficacy of Punch Elevation Combined with Fractional Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing in Facial Atrophic Acne Scarring: A Randomized Split-face Clinical Study. Indian J Dermatol. 60(5): 473–478, 2015.