FDA approves bellafill for treatment of pitted acne scars

(HealthDay)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for acne scarring.

Bellafill is an injected gel that adds volume to the skin to lift and smooth out pitted acne scars to the level of the surrounding skin, the agency said. In the study that led to FDA approval, 64 percent of 87 patients treated Bellafill said their skin had improved six months after treatment, compared with 33 percent of 46 patients treated with a placebo.

Also at six months, 84 percent of those treated with Bellafill said they were "very satisfied," "satisfied," or "somewhat satisfied," compared with 52 percent of those treated with a placebo. And doctors, at six months, who didn't know which treatment patients had received judged 84 percent of Bellafill patients "improved" or "much improved," compared to 54 percent of placebo patients.

Bellafill, made by San Diego-based Suneva Medical, costs about $1,000 per injection. The cost, like most cosmetic procedures, is not covered by insurance, according to Jeffrey Salomon, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of plastic surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.