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Patient before & after CO2 laser resurfacing |
Newest and most effective of peels on the horizon today is the laser peel, which removes deep wrinkles and creases. Dr. Kridell, who introduced laser skin resurfacing in Houston, says, "The laser peel for facial rejuvenation can reverse damage done to the skin by age, sun, and acne. The skin can be restored, making you look younger."
Today, many plastic surgeons are seeing an increasing demand for laser treatments because people have seen dramatic before and after photos of much-improved skin. Basically, the laser vaporizes wrinkles, which is considerably more appealing than having wrinkles "burned off" by a chemical.
"When I do laser resurfacing, or laserbrasion, light is delivered in rapid bursts, so that it's on the skin for such a brief time that surrounding tissue is left undamaged," Dr. Kridel explains. "One pass of the three-millimeter beam vaporizes the top layer of
skin 20 microns deep. What remains is a powdery residue of debris, which is rubbed away with a gauze pad saturated with saline solution."
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Patient before & afte
CO2 laser resurfacing |
What's left is a pink under-layer of skin called the dermis. "After treatment, it sometimes takes three months for all of the redness in your face to go away," he adds realistically.
Who can do laser skin resurfacing?
What's crucial to remember about this kind of treatment is that its success depends greatly on the skill of the surgeon using the laser. You need to choose a doctor who's well-trained and experienced. Because this is a very technique-dependent laser, your doctor should be someone who does laser skin resurfacing on a regular basis.
What does laser skin resurfacing work best on?
One of the areas that changes most dramatically are the lines around the mouth, where many women show aging (especially smokers). But the entire face can benefit greatly--anywhere that you have wrinkles can be treated effectively.
Although this treatment is clearly the gold standard for sun-damaged, aging skin, it is also used for vaporization of lesions -- keratoses, syringomas, hyperplasias, etc. And it helps to even out scars.
This is also one of the best treatments for rhinophyma --the condition that some men get that enlarges the tip of the nose with bumps (and makes them look like W.C. Fields).
Dr. Kridel also uses lasers for hair removal, tattoo removal, and elimination of hyperpigmentation, and congenital lesions, (port wine stains), nevus of Ota, and hemangiomas. |
