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Phone 512.401.2500 | Fax 512.401.2501
2745 Bee Caves Road, Suite 101
Austin,
Texas
78746
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Question:
There are so many different types of laser skin resurfacing procedures out there that it can get very confusing. What laser procedures do you perform and what are they best at treating?
Answer:
You are exactly correct in your assessment. There are two main groups of laser treatments however, ablative and non-ablative. This term refers to whether the epidermis is disrupted during the procedure or not. Non-ablative procedures include intense-pulsed light (photofacial), KTP vascular lasers and others. Industry further confuses this by giving other names to devises like “cool glide”. Non-ablative devises are good at reducing problems confined to the dermis such as redness and pigment. Different devises are better at improving different conditions. In the non-ablative category we use a KTP laser and a pulsed-dye laser for pigment and a combination of IPL/photofacial and a Fraxel laser for pigment. Non-ablative lasers are not very good at reducing wrinkles. The Fraxel restore laser crosses the barrier between ablative and non-ablative as it leaves the very top layer of the epidermis intact to aide in fast-healing, but affects the living layers of the epidermis and dermis to provide some wrinkle reduction. For significant wrinkle reduction we use an ablative fractionated CO2 laser or deep chemical peeling. These modalities have a longer recovery time, but also provide the best results.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
I have creases and smaller wrinkles below my eyes. Do laser skin resurfacing treatments work on the thin skin beneath the eyes? I have permanent crow’s feet that I would like removed at the same time if possible.
Answer:
Laser resurfacing can be very effective for the fine lines in the area around the eyes both under the eyes as well as the lateral crow’s feet. Both of these areas tend to be a result of muscle contraction and therefore Botox or Dysport is useful to prevent their rapid recurrence.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
Question:
Who do you recommend have chemical peels? I have a lot of fine wrinkles around my mouth and a few new age spots and I would like to remove them. I am 48 years old, male and a smoker.
Answer:
Chemical or laser peels of different strengths are used to treat fine lines and wrinkles, pigment changes and overall skin improvement. They can be useful in different strengths to treat a wide variety of patients. If you smoke however, you are not a good candidate for most resurfacing procedures and if you underwent a procedure the results would likely be lost in a short time due to the smoking. It is best to stop smoking as you will see improvements just from that and then once stopped consider resurfacing.
Posted by Dr. Buckingham
