Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Dermatology
Date Submitted: Dec 26, 2022
Date Accepted: Jul 23, 2023
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 26, 2023
Isotretinoin Use in Transmasculine Patients and its Implication on Chest Masculinization Surgery: A Scoping Review of the Literature
ABSTRACT
Background:
Acne often worsens in transmen on prolonged testosterone therapy. Isotretinoin is an oral retinoid used in the treatment of severe or refractory cases of acne, though it has been previously reported to cause hypertrophic scarring in patients undergoing some surgical procedures. Transmen may potentially be prescribed treatment for acne with isotretinoin while also planning to undergo chest masculinization surgery.
Objective:
To determine whether isotretinoin has a negative impact on post-operative healing in transmen undergoing chest masculinization surgery.
Methods:
A scoping review was performed using the PubMed database.
Results:
Acne tends to peak in transmen six months after initiation of testosterone treatment. Severe cases can be treated with isotretinoin, but may recur once treatment is discontinued, given ongoing hormone therapy. There is little to no evidence in the medical literature regarding peri-operative use of isotretinoin in transmen undergoing chest masculinization surgery specifically. In general, however, recent studies have found no evidence of increased hypertrophic scars or keloids in patients taking isotretinoin.
Conclusions:
Further studies are required to strengthen the current evidence that suggests that isotretinoin does not need to be discontinued before or after incisional or excisional surgeries, including chest masculinization surgery in transmen.
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.