No, you would most likely need to keep taking it.

Accutane is usually a last resort for dermatologists- they try to take care of the acne by putting patients on less severe medicine until they outgrow it.

For me, after college I was prescribed Differin and minocycline. My acne went away for a few months, but was back again with the season change. Some people are nearing the end of their 'acne period' and only need something to take for a few months to kill of the remaining infection...for many others it comes back. For me it did come back in college, but it was much less severe.

After college it started flaring up again (I think from a new job, new city, travel, stress, etc.) and I decided to take Accutane. It is definitely a more dangerous medicine, but it did the trick for me. Accutane considerably shrinks your sebaceous glands, but they do start growing back after treatment. It takes years, though, and most people have outgrown their acne by the time they are regrown (not sure if they ever get to their pre Accutane state). My brother had such terrible acne in his teenage years that he went on it when he was 16ish, but he's 31 now and has started to get acne again (though not nearly as bad).

My point is nothing is permanent, Accutane lasts longer than Differin, but in the end both just delay the acne until you outgrow it.