Laser Resurfacing
More and more people are turning to laser resurfacing instead of plastic surgery to help aid or improve the appearance of:
• Wrinkles
• Liver spots, color pigment changes or defects in the skin
• Removing tattoos
• To remove unwanted hair
Laser resurfacing sends out minute pulses of high-energy light which is absorbed by water in the skin called chromophores. As the light from the laser transforms to heat energy, the heat vaporizes thin sections of skin, layer by layer. As the lasered area heals, new skin grows to replace the damaged skin that was removed during treatment.
This treatment is precise, causing minimal damage to the surrounding skin and tissue. The face is the most common area to have lasered, but it can be done on skin in other areas of the body.
How it's done
The areas that you want treated are cleaned and marked with a pen. You will be given a local anesthetic to numb the area before treatment. If you are anxious a sedative may be administered so that you can relax. If you plan on having your entire face treated, you may need general anesthesia, pain relievers and/or sedation. Goggles should be worn to prevent eye damage by the laser and wet towels should be placed around the work area to absorb excess laser pulses.
Pulses are sent out by placing lasers over the skin. Each pulse lasts less than a millisecond. The skin will be wiped with water or a saline solution between passes with the laser to cool the skin and remove tissue that the laser has destroyed.
You may feel a stinging or slight burning sensation from the laser pulses, or you may feel a snapping sensation like a rubber band against your skin. In most cases there will be no bleeding; however, severely damaged skin may bleed. When you are all done, a clean dressing or ointment will be placed over the area. Laser resurfacing is usually done in the doctor's office as an outpatient.
After you've had laser resurfacing surgery the healing time and recovery will depend on the size and depth of the treated area. While your skin is healing you will need to rinse your skin several times a day with cool tap water to prevent infection and to get rid of the crusting that sometimes develops. Avoid sun exposure and after peeling has stopped, be sure to use sunscreen every day. New skin is more susceptible to sun damage. You may be given an antiviral drug call acyclovir to prevent infection if you had a large area of skin that was treated. Several follow-up visits to your doctor may be needed to monitor your skin's healing and regrowth process as well as identifying and treating any infections or other complications.
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