Rejuran S At A Glance
- Best Results2-4 sessions
- Treatment Recovery1-2 days
- Procedure Time5 minutes
- Skin SpecialistNurse, Dermatologist
- Duration of ResultsPermanent
- AnaestheticGel & or local aesthetic
- Back to Work Immediately - 36 hours
- Cost$-$$
Rejuran S Acne Scar Treatment
Rejuran S is new for 2023 as an acne scar treatment. This injectable is a permanent solution for superficial acne scars. Rejuran S contains DNA fragments called polynucleotides which are injected into the deeper layers of scar tissue. Polynucleotides stimulate your cells to produce collagen. Unlike lasers, recovery from Rejuran S is superfast- typically less than 48 hours.
FactsFacts on Rejuran S Acne Scar Treatment
- This injectable treatment is suitable for superficial acne scars & skin rejuvenation
- Rejuran S contains a DNA derived compound known as polynucleotide
- Polynucleotides actives your cells to produce collagen
- Unlike lasers Rejuran has little to no recovery time
- Treatments are well tolerated & take less than 5 minutes to perform
- 2-4 sessions are required for best results
What is Rejuran S & how does it work for scar removal?
Rejuran S is a novel treatment for acne scars, introduced into Australia in 2023. It has a long safety record in Asia & Europe spanning over 5 years.
Rejuran contains salmon DNA known as polynucleotide. This compound is injected into the scar tissue. It degrades over time & stimulates cells known as fibroblasts. This in turn produces new collagen. Collagen fills in the holes of acne scars.
Is the treatment painful?
Treatments are well tolerated as we –
- Combine injections with local aesthetic mix in with Rejuran S.
- Use numbing cream prior to treatment.
Treatment time is less than 5 minutes.
How many sessions are required?
2-4 depending on the severity & extent of your scarring. Most patients will see results following 1-2 sessions. Best results are seen 2-3 months after the last session.
Are the results permanent?
Yes. Unlike dermal fillers which fill the void of collagen loss, Rejuran harnesses your skin’s natural ability to rejuvenate collagen. Once scars are corrected, it is extremely unlikely that they will revert to their natural state. Read more to understand the role of Rejuran, including pros & cons.
How does Rejuran differ from dermal fillers for acne scars?
Think of dermal fillers as putty for filling up the holes of acne scarring. Dermal fillers are usually placed in the sub-dermal zone, namely in the fat. Over time they degrade (usually 1-4 years, depending on the filler & your metabolism).
Rejuran is a biostimulator. It is placed in the dermal layer of skin (higher up than dermal fillers). Unlike dermal fillers, the results from Rejuran are slower as it relies on your immune system to generate collagen. The flipside? Once corrected, the results are permanent.
What types of acne scars respond to Rejuran injectables?
Rejuran is indicated for superficial low volume atrophic scar types, including box car scars as well as shallow rolling acne scars.
The following scars do not respond well to Rejuran as they lie deeper in the skin.
- Subdermal atrophic scars: best treated with subcision & collagen stimulating injectables, RFM, deep fractional lasers
- Deep rolling scars: treatment with subcision & dermal fillers
- Ice pick scars: best removed with punch excision, TCA CROSS
View our Treatment Gallery
What is the difference between Rejuran S & Rejuran?
Both products contain polynucleotide, however Rejuran S has higher viscosity & comes as a one ml syringe. Both products work by stimulating fibroblasts to produce collagen.
Can Rejuran be combined with other scar directed treatments?
Ideally, yes. Scars should be treated upon their merits. Rejuran S can be combined with RF microneedling, subcision, laser resurfacing & TCA CROSS techniques.
In some cases my team & I will add Rejuran to your treatment protocol, either as monotherapy (stand alone), part of our revision program, or at the very end of acne scar revision.
Basic acne scar revision concepts
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👉Real life: Is not that simple. Scar signatures vary considerably even within patients.
Scar morphology changes with procedures. Classification however is a great starting point
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🛬Many doors to the same destination: In most cases the rules are not set in stone, & there are various methods to treat each scar type. Add to this the differences in devices & skill sets of operators. If all things are equal, there is a marked variation between each patient’s regenerative & remodeling potential. Furthermore age related atrophy plays an important role in acne scar revision
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👍🏻It’s much more complex than matching scars to procedures, but it is a step in the right direction💯
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😎Dr Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane 🇦🇺
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#acnescar #scarrevision #acnescartreatment #acnescarcure #icepickscars #drdavinlim #brisbanedermatologist
Long story short, 2 issues here- highly atrophic acne scars plus textural changes secondary to a deep phenol croton oil performed many years ago by another physician
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👍🏻Scars treated with subcision. Given the amount of scarring & atrophy, I expected a large amount of dermal filler was required, ended up using only 4 ml, considering age related atrophy also in play (patient nearly mid 30s)
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👉🔫Textural changes improved immensely with VBeam vascular laser alternating with Picoway laser. Looking back, I do think the textural issues were harder to treat than the scaring, but she’s got normal skin now…probably better than the average Aussie in the 4th decade of life👌🏻
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
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#laserdermatology #acnescar #scars #subcision #acnescarrevision #acnescartreatment #picoway #picotoning #vbeam #drdavinlim #dermatoloigstbrisbane #skinscience #pico
Fillers are invaluable in the management of atrophic acne scars. If there is too much collagen & or fat loss due to inflammation, some patients require a helping hand to correct volumetric deficits. In many cases soft tissue fillers accelerate the revision process. Filling in this patient was done over two sessions
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🔬Scar types: Atrophic rolling scars are amenable to fillers, especially if there is significant volume loss. In older patients fillers provide structural support to the overlying scars in addition to traction & countertraction in specified vectors
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⚖️Filler vs Fat: in the context of acne scars, I prefer to correct volume loss with fillers. Smaller volume defects with hyaluronic acid fillers, larger defects with hyper diluted calcium hydroxyapatite & larger defects with poly L lactic acid. I also employ autologous fat if volume loss exceeds 15 to 20 ml. The predictability of fat is the unpredictable nature of adipose resorption
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😎Davin Lim
Dermatologist
Brisbane🇦🇺
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#drdavinlim #davinlim #PLLAfiller #acnescarcure #skinclinic #scareraser can’t fill #dermatologist #brisbanedermatology #hyaluronicacid #HAfillers #injectors #acnescars #scarrevision #dermalfiller #hyaluronicacidfiller #dermatologistbrisbane #facialanatomy
How much does it cost?
One session cost $940 as performed by Dr Davin Lim, or $790 performed by my nursing team. Discounts apply when Rejuran is added to your acne scar program.
What are the potential side effects?
REJURAN® is composed of biocompatible DNA fragments with little adverse reactions. It has a long safety profile. As compared to other dermal fillers, Rejuran has no reported incidence of nodules, lumps, allergic reactions or arterial occlusion (as of 2023).
In a minority of patients, bruising may be persistent for > 5 days, post inflammatory pigmentation at the injection site is rare- less than 0.1% of cases.
Will everyone respond to Rejuran S, & will it remove all my scars?
Not everyone will respond to Rejuran as this relies on your immune system to produce collagen. Some patients are more efficient at regenerating collagen compared to others.
Unlike fully ablative laser resurfacing, Rejuran will not remove all scars. A realistic expectation is that it can improve scars by up to 70-80% after 2-4 sessions. The flipside? It is more affordable than CO2 lasers, it has no downtime & it has little or no side effects.
Why is it important to have acne in remission before or during Rejuran treatment?
Inflammation is the evil of nucleogenesis or collagen stimulation. Even a small amount of inflammation (acne) can hamper your skin’s natural immune response to produce collagen, & hence repair scar tissue.
Here is an analogy- to build quad strength & bulk, you train at the gym. A slightest tear (inflammation) will hamper you from building muscle mass as the body needs to recover. The same applies to efficiently building collagen in scar tissue. Ideally inflammation should be as close to zero as possible. Hence the argument is not that your acne is improved, or that your current type of acne does not result in scarring, inflammation does not discriminate.
*If you have chronic inflammatory acne, my team & I will take the steps to refer you to a medical dermatologist for management. This, of course, is entirely optional.
Is Rejuran S covered under Medicare?
No, dermal fillers, as well as injectables are not covered under Medicare. Additionally, injectables are not covered under Australian private health insurance. Some international health insurance policies cover injectables for acne scarring.
Davin’s viewpoint on Rejuran S for acne scars
The future of acne scar removal is in the biostimulatory injectable realm. Why? Injectables work by stimulating the natural responses of skin to correct atrophy by removing acne scars & or stimulating the production of collagen, elastin, & hyaluronic acid. The prospect of biostimulation is exciting because unlike traditional acne scar revision methods such as lasers & TCA peels, injectables have little, if any downtime. As we are targeting the deeper layers of skin, recovery is less than 48 hours.
This injectable consists of polynucleotide- extracted DNA derived from salmon gonads. Polynucleotide functions in two ways. Firstly, it provides a scaffolding for collagen to ‘hang on’ to. Secondly it acts to stimulate production of collagen.
The two rate limiting prospects of Rejuran S are –
- Can your immune system be stimulated by polynucleotide? Here is the catch- it is called the gaussian curve, namely the sum of a large number of independent and identically distributed random variables will tend to be normally distributed, regardless of the distribution of the individual variables. Hence some will lie to the right of the median (excellent stimulation), whilst a proportion of others may lie to the very left (poor stimulation). As we are relying on your immune system to generate collagen, this is another variable we need to consider- unlike dermal fillers (which may function as ‘putty’ or bog).
- If you can generate collagen, will it be enough to fill up the atrophy? This is where the volumetric defect of the acne scar itself has to be taken into account. Rejuran S is hence best employed for small volume defects- box car scars are an example of this. For larger areas of subdermal atrophy (where fat loss is significant), the use of traditional fillers (or fat transfer), placed in the deeper layers of skin will give more predictable results.
In summary, Rejuran S is a useful modality that requires very little skill and can give good results in most superficial acne scar types. Outcomes are dependent on identifying the suitable candidate, in addition to relying on your body’s immune response to correct atrophy. It is thus a useful modality that can be integrated into the current repertoire of scar revision.
