Efficacy of autologous platelet rich plasma with subcision vs platelet rich plasma with microneedling in atrophic acne scars: A single-center, prospective, intra-individual split-face comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Severe post-acne scarring has been implicated as a cause of considerable psychological distress, mainly among adolescents. Subcision and microneedling are cutting-edge treatment options available nowadays.

AIM: In this study, we aimed to compare the efficacy of microneedling with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) against subcision with PRP in treating atrophic post-acne scars in a split-face study design.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty patients with atrophic post-acne facial scars were included in this prospective interventional study. Group A included the left side of the face managed by microneedling with PRP and group B included the right side of the face that was subjected to subcision with PRP. Results were assessed based on Goodman and Baron qualitative and quantitative grading.

RESULTS: In our study, at the end of the treatment, on the left side, 5 (10%) had 1 grade of improvement showing good response, 35 (70%) had 2 grades of improvement showing very good response, and 10 (20%) had 3 grades of improvement showing excellent response. On the right side, 1 (2%) patient had no improvement in acne grade showing poor response, 9 (18%) had 1 grade of improvement showing good response, 25 (50%) had 2 grades of improvement showing very good response, whereas 15 (30%) had 3 grades of improvement showing excellent response.

CONCLUSION: Till date, apart from ours no other study has compared the two modalities head-to-head with adjuvant PRP in both groups. Although both modalities showed statistically significant results individually, there was no significant difference in qualitative improvement of acne scars between the two groups.