This insane subcision story involves a psych ward visit, 90% scar improvement and quite literally one of the craziest things I’ve ever experienced.

The doctor's name and results will not be revealed for another few months as we continue correcting the complication.

Procedure

3 months ago I had an extremely aggressive procedure combining Taylor Liberator Subcision, CO2 laser, punch excisions and chemical peel all into 1 session.

Obviously I was extremely scared. One Google search of Taylor Liberator subcision and you see absolute horror stories online, mostly tied to 1 individual in London.

I asked about the horror stories and the doctor reassured me those cases were mostly due to improper technique and that he would stay extremely superficial. He told me I’d be back to normal in 2 weeks.

YOLO

At that point my severe grade 4 acne scars had ruined my confidence for 15 years and I basically thought:
“Anything is better than this, let’s just YOLO it.”

The doctor also had ONLY positive reviews and I personally spoke to multiple people who had good results with him, so I pulled the trigger.

Complications...

2 weeks pass...
my face is still the size of a watermelon.

I message the doctor and he says some people can stay swollen for up to a month.

A month passes...
still swollen.

Friends and family literally thought I got filler.

Eventually the doctor puts me on systemic steroids and POOF for the first time I finally recognize a version of myself again. Not fully normal, but close enough to stop me from spiraling mentally.

Real Issues...

Things finally seemed to be improving until the steroids had to stop because staying on them long term obviously comes with risks.

The second I stopped them my body went completely insane.

My face IMMEDIATELY doubled in size again and within days parts of my cheeks became HARD like actual rock. I’m not exaggerating when I say my cheeks literally felt like solid concrete under the skin.

Imagine having a face that already feels massive and swollen beyond recognition... then suddenly the tissue hardens into rock.

It was one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever experienced mentally.

At that point I genuinely thought I permanently ruined my face and traded acne scars for an even worse problem.

ChatGPT was also telling me it was probably scar tissue which completely destroyed my mental state at the time.

I was messaging my doctor freaking out, crying and telling him he ruined my life.

Things got so bad mentally that I literally ended up in the psych ward because I became fully convinced I had permanently disfigured myself.

I genuinely thought my life was over.

The follow up..

I go back to see him completely panicking.

He spends almost an hour examining everything and tells me:
“This looks really bad, but the good news is I think it’s inflammation and not permanent damage.”

They inject steroids and almost immediately the hard tissue softens. Watching the rock hard areas literally melt within hours was one of the biggest emotional reliefs of my life.

The volume was still there, but the concrete-like hardness was gone.

Later I also had an ultrasound done which showed:

• no scar tissue
• no nodules
• no structural damage

Today

Today I’m approaching my next follow up at 3 months.

The pros:

• my severe grade 4 scarring honestly improved like 90%
• structurally everything appears normal
• the doctor has been the saving grace in this story with unbelievable post-op support
• ultrasound showed no scar tissue, nodules or disease
• things are still slowly improving over time

The cons:

• had I known recovery could be this brutal I probably wouldn’t have done such an aggressive treatment
• the facial swelling/volume changes have been mentally exhausting
• I basically traded one insecurity for another (hopefully temporary) one

Going Forward

At this point I’m continuing to monitor things and decide next steps with my doctor.

Since I’ve already tried most systemic steroids, the next step may potentially be diluted steroid injections directly into stubborn inflamed areas, although we may also simply continue waiting things out since I am seeing gradual improvement daily.

I’m also open to small corrective procedures in the future once everything fully settles if needed.

Overall though, despite how traumatic this experience has been mentally, it does appear things are improving and not permanently damaged.

Advice for anyone considering Acne Scar Treatment

If you are considering acne scar treatment please take things slow.

- My mistake was throwing the kitchen sink at my face as my FIRST treatment instead of trying conservative options first.

- The scar improvement has honestly been insane, but this recovery has also been one of the most stressful experiences of my life.

- Choose your doctor carefully. The post-op support and experience of the provider matters just as much as the procedure itself.

- One thing I’ve also noticed online is that many prolonged inflammation cases seem to involve individuals with higher body fat percentages. I am NOT a doctor and this is purely anecdotal, but it’s something I’ve consistently observed while researching other recovery stories.

- If you are considering aggressive subcision procedures, especially Taylor Liberator, just understand that recovery can be much more intense and prolonged than some doctors or online posts make it sound.