from the Winter 2006 issue
Creating younger-looking skin with minimal downtime has always been a credo at The Center for Cosmetic Dermatology. Skin resurfacing is considered the gold standard for improving the appearance of facial wrinkles, acne scars and brown spots. However, because of the long healing time, skin resurfacing has not been practical for many of our patients. Now we can offer our clients many of the benefits of skin resurfacing with an innovative laser called the Fraxel™.
Originally ablative methods, such as dermabrasion and CO2 laser resurfacing, were used to resurface skin. Because these procedures abrade or burn off the entire skin surface at one time, they have a long downtime and a risk of infection, scarring and pigmentation changes.
Our Fraxel laser treatment is a breakthrough approach to resurfacing the skin. The laser produces thousands of tiny, but deep, columns of treatment in your skin. During a full-face procedure approximately 20 percent of the skin surface is affected by the laser, leaving the surrounding 80 percent of the skin unaffected and intact. This "fractional" treatment allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once, using the body's natural healing process to create new, healthy, tighter tissue to replace skin imperfections. With Fraxel, you will see improvement in skin texture, acne scars, wrinkles and discolorations such as sunspots and melasma. Even delicate areas such as the neck, chest and hands can benefit from this therapy.
In March 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval for the marketing of the Fraxel laser for skin-resurfacing procedures. Four months later, the FDA cleared the Fraxel laser for the specific treatment of melasma, a facial skin pigmentation that presents as patterns of dark brown patches and is associated with pregnancy, female hormonal activity and certain drugs. Often referred to as blotchy skin, melasma generally resides deeper in the dermis and has therefore been more difficult to clear with traditional laser and intense pulsed light (IPL) modalities. Fraxel's deep penetrating treatment can significantly restore a more even appearance to the skin.
Clinical studies suggest that an effective treatment regimen is three to five sessions, spaced no closer than two weeks apart. Most patients tolerate the one-hour full-face procedure well with the use of a topical anesthetic, chilled air blown on the skin being treated, and, if desired, an oral pain medication. Prior to the procedure a blue dye is applied to the skin, and it is washed off afterwards. Makeup may be applied immediately following the procedure. Post treatment, you will experience a mild-to-moderate sunburn sensation for about an hour and then virtually no discomfort. Redness and swelling generally resolve in two to three days, but the skin may have a pinkish or red tone for seven to ten days. After the swelling subsides, the skin may go through a dry, flaking phase that lasts anywhere from 3 to 14 days. Use of a moisturizer helps to improve the dryness. Strict sun protection is recommended to safeguard the newly healed skin. Over the following weeks and months, your body repairs the deeper dermal tissue that has been affected by the Fraxel treatment. What you'll see is the beneficial changes associated with a healthy, more youthful appearance.
To learn more about this exciting procedure and see if fractional resurfacing is right for you, call 713.850.0240 to schedule an appointment with one of our dermatologists.
For more information, see:
Fraxel: Second Generation
Summer 2007
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