When can I resume Accutane after ablative laser treatment for acne scars?

Doctor's Answer

Photo of Dr Joanna Chan
Dr Joanna Chan

Aesthetic, General Practitioner

Recent dermatological studies and research have reported that ablative co2 fractional laser treatment for acne scarring seems to be safe regardless of isotretinoin use at doses of 10-60mg/day (Dermatol Surg 2014).

The Journal of the American Medical Association did a systemic review of this topic in 2017 and concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support delaying procedures such as fractional ablative and non-ablative lasers for patients currently receiving or having recently completed isotretinoin, although fully ablative laser is not recommended.

However, everyone’s response to resurfacing laser is different; it is also important to check with your doctor whether the laser you just did was a full ablative or fractional ablative laser as recovery times are different.

In addition, you may also want to check with your doctor regarding your current acne condition and appropriate management in terms of whether you still need to continue on isotretinoin therapy, and the intended duration of treatment with isotretinoin. These questions can probably be answered best with a face-to-face consult.

Regards,

Dr Joanna Chan

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