Face

Isolated neck procedures

Skin Rejuvenation

Laser skin resurfacing

As one of the most exciting and innovative scientific achievements of the decade, laser technology is being utilized throughout the health care community. Drs. Cuzalina and Koehler use utilize a carbon dioxide laser, to treat sun-damaged skin, facial wrinkles and scars in a procedure called laser skin resurfacing.

A surgical laser, such as the CO2 laser, is a device that produces a beam of light capable of removing unwanted tissue, such as scarred, lined, wrinkled, and otherwise imperfect skin. The laser vaporizes skin cells by emitting bursts of radiation that are absorbed by water in these cells. Laser light penetrates to a very precise, controlled depth, making the procedure safe and predictable, while reducing the risk of scarring or pigmentation problems. Laser skin resurfacing is bloodless and it is performed right here in our office, under light sedation. As a result of this treatment, you are left with more natural looking skin.

Lasers also are used to reduce tiny wrinkles, acne scars and other minor skin imperfections, especially around the mouth and eyes. It can improve sun-damaged and acne scarred skin, problems that often cause concern to both men and women.

Laser resurfacing can be used as an alternative to chemical peel and dermabrasion. The benefits of using this technique are that there is less pain and a faster recovery time. In most cases, it is also less costly.

Prior to surgery, our surgeons will discuss the goals for facial improvement. After determining the appropriate procedure, we will fully describe the procedure, what results to expect and the costs. The skin is usually pretreated with certain skin creams prior to surgery to improve the healing time.

A general anesthetic is used to ensure that you are comfortable throughout the procedure. The surgeon directs the laser beam toward your skin imperfections. The laser quickly and accurately vaporizes the outermost layers of skin.

In most cases, only one treatment is needed. The initial redness fades in a few weeks to a light pink, which can be concealed with makeup. The pink discoloration usually disappears in one or three months but in rare cases can last longer. The goal of laser resurfacing is to enhance facial appearance. Expectations by the patient must be realistic, and results should be anticipated as improvements rather than total corrections. Results of the surgery depend on many factors such as the size, shape and location of the imperfection and the patient's heredity, age and general skin condition.

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is a procedure similar to laser resurfacing that removed the damaged, wrinkled and scarred surface layers of skin.  This technique was all that was available for patients before the introduction of laser skin resurfacing.  The procedure is still sometimes used today to improve the appearance of traumatic scars and acne scars.  Sometimes we use a combination of dermabrasion and laser skin resurfacing techniques.

After the skin is numbed with local anesthesia, a diamond fraise is used to plane down the scarred and damaged skin.  The procedure is stopped once the skin begins to have pinpoint bleeding.  Dermabrasion is different from microdermabrasion, which is a painless office procedure that only removes dead skin cells and makes the skin feel smoother.  Dermabrasion is a surgical procedure.