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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.