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

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

Yes, it is safe to do ablative lasers like fractional co2 even while on Accutane/ Isotretinoin.

The latest research published in 2018 shows that it is safe to have Laser treatments - even Ablative laser treatments without a 6 month delay in Isotretinion.

Practically speaking, there is an increase in skin dryness after an ablative laser - especially for the first 1 week. Some patients experience this effect more than others.

This dry-ness might be further worsened by Isotretinoin/Accutane.

Hence, I usually restart my patients on Accutane 1 week after the laser treatment to avoid excessive dry skin.

My advise is to check with the doctor who performed laser treatment for the most appropriate time to restart Accutane.

Hope that this helps!

Warmest regards,

Dr Justin Boey