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 Topics on this page include: |
| What is laser skin resurfacing? | Advantages | Disadvantages | Pre-surgery | Procedure | Side effects | Precautions |
What is laser skin resurfacing?
We are born with smooth, soft skin. However, as we age, it becomes damaged from injuries, the sun, pollution, and gravity.
The surgeon uses the CO2 (carbon dioxide) laser like an artist's brush to smooth away fine lines and wrinkles around eyes and mouth. The laser uses a high-energy beam of light to vaporize the outer fine layer of skin. It penetrates to a very precise, controlled depth.
Laser skin resurfacing tightens the skin through thermally induced collagen shrinkage and new collagen formation. It can be used to soften deep laugh and frown lines or it can improve scars from acne, trauma, surgery, or disease. Laser skin resurfacing can also make stretch marks less noticeable. Laser skin resurfacing produces smoother, fresher, younger looking skin. 
Laser skin resurfacing has several advantages over chemical peels and dermabrasion. There is no blood loss. The risk of scarring is minimal, and the surgeon can control the depth of skin removal. This is not true with other procedures.
There are a few disadvantages associated with laser skin resurfacing. The skin may look light pink to red for up to four months. However, this redness can generally be covered with makeup. Patients must avoid the sun and use sunscreen every time they go outside. More than one session may be needed to correct the problem. If so, the patient must wait eight weeks between laser skin resurfacing sessions. Finally, laser skin resurfacing is not usually covered by insurance.
Two weeks before surgery, the patient should apply Retin-A cream or Cellex-C every night before bed to the entire area to be treated. Every morning, the patient should apply alpha hydroxyacid lotion to all areas to be treated.
Three to four weeks before treatment, the patient should quit using exfoliating sponges. Three to five weeks prior to surgery, patients should stop using all forms of hair removal.
Two days before surgery, the patient should begin taking acyclovir 400 mg two times per day or famciclovir 500 mg two times per day.
The patient should report for surgery with a clean face - no cologne, after shave, or cosmetics. Males should avoid shaving the day of surgery. As with all surgeries, patients should skip breakfast the morning of the procedure and not eat any solid foods after midnight the night before.
The surgeon may use a local anesthetic to numb the skin. This is the most uncomfortable part of the surgery. There may be brief periods of discomfort as the laser resurfaces the skin. After surgery, the staff will place cold compresses and polysporin on the skin, which will make it feel better. The skin takes seven to ten days to heal.
Immediately after the laser skin resurfacing, the skin will be red and swollen. The skin will burn and weep as the dermal layer forms new collagen to rebuild the skin. The skin will go through a period of crusting for a few days. After the crusting is over, the new skin will be pink. This fades over a period of two to six weeks. Makeup can be applied in four to seven days.
There may be a brown discoloration of the skin. This is usually reversible, but may be occasionally permanent. It generally happens to people who are exposed to the sun after the treatment or to those who do not wear sunscreen SPF 25 or higher. Laser skin resurfacing may cause a flare up of cold sores in people who are prone to get them. If a person is prone to cold sores, he or she will need to take medicine to prevent flare-up.
If a patient has any of the following conditions, he or she should let their doctor know so appropriate precautions can be taken: facial warts, previous bad reaction to a peel or dermabrasion, past history of herpes simplex (cold sores), history of sun allergies, or recent radiation treatment for cancer. Patients should also let the doctor know if they form keloid or hypertrophic scars (thick scars); if they are pregnant or breast feeding, if they have used accutane within the past two years, or if they have had surgery or cryosurgery to the area to be treated during the last six weeks.