Weekend Acne Cure sm

Laser Treatment for Acne a Reality

Alert: The “I Pledge” Program may kick people off Accutane® therapy and often prevents patients from getting Isotretinoin for scarring acne.

Dermatologists are no longer in control of prescription Accutane® therapy (Isotretinoin), approved for scarring acne that has been resistant to all previous therapies. Many people are unable to get on the drug because of bureaucracy. Once you are on it, if you are one day late getting blood drawn for lab work dictated by the FDA-Industry created I Pledge program, I Pledge cancels your ability to get Isotretinoin for a minimum of one month. That's at least one more month of active scarring, and as yet unknown ill-effects from starting and stopping such an important drug…a drug that has always been given for at least four consistent uninterrupted months.

There have been so many problems with the isotretinoin industry run I Pledge program, many patients are unnecessarily developing permanent acne scars, when they should be receiving oral Isotretinoin.

As a stop gap, or as an alternative to Isotretinoin therapy, dermatologists are borrowing FDA approved Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) for pre-skin cancers, and using it for facial scarring acne. An FDA approved product called Levulan® is applied to the face with emphasis on both active acne, and the recent scars. Levulan® binds to the oil gland tissues, and becomes a “photoactive” product. Laser light is then used to activate the photoactive complexes with the PDT treatment. In our experience two treatments a month apart is most effective and tends to produce lasting results. Typically performed on a Thursday or a Friday, with recovery over the weekend, I have begun to call this service our Weekend Acne Cure®. This is a trademark name, not a description. There is no such thing, really, as a weekend acne cure, and scarring acne on the trunk ultimately needs oral Isotretinoin. But stopping scarring facial acne with lasers is now a reality. FDA trials are ongoing, and once the FDA approves Levulan® for acne (months or years), we expect health insurance to cover it.

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