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Review
. 2020 May;19(5):1029-1038.
doi: 10.1111/jocd.13308. Epub 2020 Jan 28.

Subcision: Indications, adverse reactions, and pearls

Sahar Dadkhahfar  1 , Reza M Robati  1   2 , Mehdi Gheisari  1   2 , Hamideh Moravvej  1
Affiliations
Review

Subcision: Indications, adverse reactions, and pearls

Sahar Dadkhahfar et al. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2020 May.

Abstract

Background: Subcision, also known as subcutaneous incisionless surgery, is a surgical intervention used to treat a variety of skin conditions including atrophic acne scars, depressed scars, cellulite, and wrinkles.

Aims: We plan to prepare a review article about the indications of subcision, its adverse reactions, and pearls.

Patients/methods: We searched the literature for the information about subcision and its applications from papers published up to March 2019. The search was performed through the databases of the National Library of Medicine.

Results: After a thorough review of the published papers about subcision, we finally chose to review 40 articles that had proper sample size and design to prepare this review article. Twenty-one papers were related to the application of subcision in the treatment of acne scar and other scars. Four articles were about the application of subcision to treat cellulite, and eight articles were related to other applications of subcision such as the treatment of striae or nasolabial fold. The remaining seven articles include published review papers about subcision or acne scar classification.

Conclusion: Subcision seems to be effective on various skin conditions including acne scar, other depressed scars, and cellulite. It is easy to apply and inexpensive with short downtime and no significant complications. Subcision needs proper technique and adequate experience.

Keywords: acne scar; cellulite; scar; subcision; wrinkle.

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References

REFERENCES

    1. Orentreich DS, Orentreich N. Subcutaneous incisionless (subcision) surgery for the correction of depressed scars and wrinkles. Dermatol Surg. 1995;21(6):543-549.
    1. Goodman GJ. Therapeutic undermining of scars (Subcision). Australas J Dermatol. 2001;42(2):114-117.
    1. Friedmann DP, Vick GL, Mishra V. Cellulite: a review with a focus on subcision. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2017;10:17-23.
    1. Hexsel DM, Mazzuco R. Subcision: a treatment for cellulite. Int J Dermatol. 2000;39(7):539-544.
    1. Luis-Montoya P, Pichardo-Velázquez P, Hojyo-Tomoka MT, Domínguez-Cherit J. Evaluation of subcision as a treatment for cutaneous striae. J Drugs Dermatol. 2005;4(3):346-350.

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