Question: What sort of results can you expect from laser skin resurfacing?

Answer: The results from laser skin resurfacing are directly dependent on the depth of which the laser is used to treat the skin.  In other words, the deeper the laser resurfacing the more significant the results, but at the same time you have more significant risks as well.  When the laser is used very superficially, you have very minimal risks, and you can still get significant improvement in skin texture and discolorations, but your wrinkle reduction will be rather minimal.  When the laser is used quite deep in the skin, your wrinkle reduction can be quite remarkable and so can the improvement in discolorations and texture.  Ultimately though, this is a very customized treatment and requires the skill of a very experienced laser surgeon to make sure that you ultimately get the result that you desire while minimizing any possibility of complication.

Question: There seems to be a lot of different lasers used for skin resurfacing, does it make that much of a difference which laser is used? What are some of the more common or more effective lasers, and what are they appropriate for treating?

Answer: There are quite a few lasers on the market today, and there seems to be more and more each year, mainly by smaller companies that come and go.  I prefer to stick with some of the more reliable companies that can stand behind their product for years to come.  The two most common types of lasers used for laser resurfacing that actually creates the need for prolonged healing are the Erbium laser and CO2 lasers.  These can both provide significant amount of skin tightening and wrinkle reduction as well improvement in pigmentation and skin texture.  My personal and preference is for the Erbium laser due to the fact that I feel that it creates less post-treatment redness and seems to have a lower risk of creating any scarring.  Otherwise, for nonablative treatments, there are a multitude of different lasers, some being used to treat vascular lesions, other lasers that are used primarily for pigmented lesions, many of which can treat either type of problem, and then we also have devices that use intense pulse light, which are not truly lasers but have a broad spectrum of different frequencies used to treat various skin conditions as well.  I think what is most important is that you seek out a very experienced provider that can end up giving you the result you desire as opposed to worrying about which laser is actually used.  However, the most common problem that we see at the Quintessa Aesthetic Center is that many providers try to make their one laser that they have do too many things, and it cannot be an expert at everything.  In other words, they try to use the laser to treat virtually anything that walks in the door when in reality the laser is very good at treating certain conditions and not so good at treating others.  These providers unfortunately do not want to lose these patients, and therefore, try to use this laser for things that it is not necessarily meant for.  So, I would discuss this with whomever you are going to have provide treatments for you so that you can end up getting the best results and the best value. 

Question: What is fractional skin resurfacing? What does it do, and how effective is it?

Answer: Fractional laser resurfacing is when a laser is broken up into different segments creating small areas of skin injury while leaving the remainder area of the skin completely intact.  This is similar to aerating a lawn.  Some of the fractionated lasers are ablative in that they actual vaporize the tissue, and other lasers are nonablative where they just heat up or injure some of the tissue.  Either way, it is an extremely safe and reliable way to treat the skin for a variety of disorders from pigmentation problems to fine wrinkling and, when performed aggressively, can even cause some skin tightening and significant wrinkle reduction.  I have personally used the ProFractional laser by Sciton in a very aggressive manner for acne scarring, and have found it to be exceptionally effective when used over a series of treatments spaced about a month apart.  In fact, I consider ProFractional laser treatments my gold standard for acne scarring at this time.