Acne is a very frustrating disease for everyone. It affects a wide age range of teenagers to adults and almost always affects each person's confidence and self-esteem. Nobody likes to wake up in the morning and have pimples on their face.
Acne is a disease of the oil (sebaceous) gland and the cause of acne is multi-factorial. It is not simply that your face is dirty or that you eat chocolate. It is environmental and genetic.
Our philosophy has found that acne is a curable problem if tackled early and aggressively. Curing acne is not just applying the right creams. Addressing acne with a multi-pronged approach has proven to be the most effective way to cure this frustrating and complicated problem.
The doctors at ZENA Medical have created a proven method to cure acne with a four-pronged approach. It requires:
1) a customized topical regimen
2) surgical extractions
3) lasers
4) oral medication (because acne is an internal disease as much as an external disease).
Depending on the severity of your acne, isotretinoin (Accutane®) may also be used.
Each acne patient is unique and provides a different set of problems that require attention. We specialize in identifying what each patient needs and develop a customized treatment plan to address the problem thoroughly, thus achieving an acne free face.
We believe that a few pimples are not acceptable – we want our patients to be totally acne free. With our combo therapy and very hands-on (literally) approach we can eradicate this disease and help you feel confident.
Accutane
Depending on the severity of your acne, isotretinoin (Accutane®) may also be used. Isotretinoin is an oral retinoic acid that is the most potent and effective medication for the treatment of acne. It acts on the follicles to prevent plugging and shrinks the sebaceous glands to decrease oil production. This medication requires routine blood work and pregnancy tests as it can cause birth defects. Please refer to the Isotretinoin handout for further details.
Accutane is an extremely effective medicine utilized to cure acne. Most offices prescribe Accutane daily for 6 months and then treatment is terminated. However, Dr. Zena customizes each client's dose to limit the side effects while still achieving optimum results. In fact, some patients may require a very low-dose of Accutane to cure their acne.
Accutane is considered the "big-guns" of acne treatment, mainly because the drug is regulated by the FDA for pregnancy prevention. However, there are very few side effects of Accutane. The main side effect is dry, chapped lips. The other more severe side effects are all very rare and are typically dose-related. This means that the more Accutane a person takes, the higher the chance a side effect will occur. However, low-dose regimens are almost completely side-effect free and totally safe.
Physicians that prescribe Accutane to their patients are required by law to participate in the iPledge Program. The purpose of this program is to ensure patients taking Accutane are not pregnant. Accutane can cause birth abnormalities if taken during pregnancy. The ipledge program involves a set of steps that each patient, their doctor, and their pharmacist must follow for the patient to take Accutane. The best analogy is to think of the iPledge program like the DMV of Accutane. Dr. Zena makes this program easy and fool-proof.
Details regarding how Accutane is prescribed and the iPledge Program will be discussed during your visit.