A fifty seven year old women lies back in what looks like a dental chair in a physician’s office, as many years of day to day living disappear from her neck. The process is so noninvasive that she is chatting while the procedure takes place and she never cringes.
Dr. Greg Laurence is performing fractional CO2 laser skin resurfacing right in his office. He says only one treatment will lighten UV damage from the sun, reduce tiny lines, decrease the size of skin pores, make the skin taut and smooth scarring. A tiny beam of light marks the place where the CO2 laser skin therapy will occur. Laurence calls the process the best laser based technology he has seen in his time as a medical practitioner.
If his current patient is like most individuals Laurence treats, she will quite likely be back to work in about four or five day’s time. In about one to two weeks, she will be able to feel great about her skin that will have her appearing considerably more youthful.
Since laser skin therapy has been available, it has hardly been inexpensive. However, it is now becoming much more simple with the major breakthrough of Fractional CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing method. In a recent news story from acclaimed Internet medical portal – WebMD.com – they said the novel laser procedure was “the anti aging breakthrough of the decade.”
This Fractional CO2 laser treatment is known to provide the equally commanding results that the older carbon dioxide lasers delivered [it has been the highest rated process for wrinkle removal] – but there is no long term healing period and complications are minimal in comparison.
The therapy utilizes what is called a fractionated laser beam that brings multitudes of diminutive columns of heat penetrating deeply into the epidermis, ablating [eradicating] old skin cells and promoting the production of new collagen. Quite unlike older CO2 versions of therapy that created considerable wounds of the epidermis, open sores and crustiness, fractional lasers leave the adjacent skin tissue undamaged and unaltered. This means that the epidermis will complete the healing process much more rapidly. Patients are impressed by the added enhancement over the following few months as collagen begins to restore itself.
One of Laurence’s previous patients who had the Fractional CO2 Laser therapy several months ago claims to be absolutely thrilled by her continuing results. It removed her freckles, age spots, general discoloration, any fine lines and wrinkling she had and it even made some difference to her drooping eye lids. She is getting many compliments from people she works with and hears more often than not that her skin looked smooth and fresh as a baby’s butt!
Dr. Laurence charges about two thousand dollars for a complete face fractional CO2 treatment using an Affirm laser from Cynosure. His patients have the option of taking using a topically applied cream to numb the area first or an injection of local anesthetic. Intravenous sedation otherwise known as twilight sleep will cost an additional two hundred dollars. He says the majority of folks go for two choices.
Laurence is certified by the board as a family medicine physician and is likewise certified with the American Board of Laser Surgery.
The patient who was a nurse had a rather aggressive form of therapy and sedation was required. During her first couple post laser procedure days, her face appeared as if it was sunburned. Her pain was acceptable so she did not take any pain medication. She was supplied with antibacterial creams and hydration moisturizer, along with some sterile mineral water so she could mist her face. The water misting certainly made the facial skin feel comforted and it was possible it could encourage healing. She was back at her regular employment within two days of having her procedure done. Her skin peeled quite a bit the first week and there was more peeling for a few days right afterward.
Based on literature from the American Society of Dermatologic Surgery, fractional resurface laser procedures are able to be done on the face, neck, chest and hands. Normal adverse reactions from the procedure is redness and swelling of the work region, followed by bouts of acne or cold sores but these occur in less than two percent of procedures. There were no prolonged problems created by either.
Nevertheless, a story released in the May 2009 issue of Watch Dermatology there was a warning that neck and eyelids were particularly vulnerable to scars caused by the laser process. Certain factors that could heighten the risk of scar damage were overly aggressive laser settings and working with patients who had previous ablative laser resurfacing, a cosmetic surgery face lift or an infection.
Dr Laurence has not had any complications resulting from any of his procedures thus far. He will not use the laser technology on those individuals with dark skin, including the majority of African Americans, due to risks of a condition known as hyper pigmentation, or dark spots.
Many more fractional CO2 laser systems were under production and being introduced to practices by a number of companies starting about two years ago. ActiveFX from Lumenis is a technique utilized by UltraPulse Encore CO2 laser. DOT Therapy is completed utilizing the SmartXide DOT CO2 laser system. These units come with numerous settings so procedures can be customized to patient needs and requirements.
According to medical insiders, you really require a skilled practitioner doing the procedure. It is not a process to be taken nonchalantly. You could remove about ten years from your birth certificate. Half the patients receiving the laser treatments can expect that type of result, the other fifty percent will see quite a noticeable difference in their appearance.
Another laser practitioner charges one thousand dollars for a facial procedure with numbing cream. Her spa cannot prescribe medication like pain killers or sedatives. She recommends that her patients speak to their primary health care provider for a prescription sedative.
The results are no longer surprising to the people who perform the procedures. A onetime therapy session can pretty well take care of nearly any skin anomaly requiring treatment. The practitioners say they all have waiting lists of future patients – that is how popular the treatments have become.
When asked, a patient said she would absolutely go through the procedure again. She had it done the first time after she lost thirty five pounds and decided to reward herself for her efforts. She said since she is not getting any younger and her body was now looking better, she wanted to have her face look better as well.
Sat, Feb 13, 2010
Anti Aging, Health And Aging, Lifestyle