Can Laser Treatment Remove Chicken Pox Scars?

You probably had chicken pox when you were a kid; before the vaccination was available, it was almost a certainty of childhood. As a result, you might have one or more deep, pitted or shallow, indented scars. It’s probably safe to assume that you don’t want a permanent memento of your illness–chicken pox scars are often reminders of part of our childhood that we’d just rather forget!

The question of, if, or how we treat chicken pox scars is a frequently asked one in our office. And yes, we can and do treat them. But the exact way that’s best for you can be different based on a few different things. Shallow scars may respond better to laser treatment, and deeper or pitted scarring may be better suited for a surgical approach.  Let us explain the process a bit more. There are generally two different approaches to the treatment of chicken pox scars: laser resurfacing or surgical excision of the scar.

Scar removal before and after pictures

Laser resurfacing is a process that removes layers of damaged or scarred skin while heating the deeper layer to produce collagen and make the skin appear firmer and smoother. Another term that fits this type of resurfacing is “ablative” or “fractional” laser resurfacing, because there is skin that is removed or “ablated” by the laser. At Celibre, we provide Erbium fractional resurfacing to improve chicken pox scars. This procedure works best if your scars are shallow. Usually a series of three treatments are required to see good results with this type of scarring.

The other option is surgical excision. This is usually done by a plastic surgeon who removes or “excises” the scar tissue in a single procedure. The net result is trading a deep or pitted scar for a linear one, and this may be a good choice if your scar is large, excessively deep or if you are not a candidate for laser resurfacing of the scar.

There are effective options available for the treatment of unwanted chicken pox scars. The one that’s right for you depends on several considerations. To evaluate your options, it’s best to sit down with someone who’s experienced at treating these types of scars. Call us today for your free evaluation.

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