Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
A central component of the laser skin resurfacing technique is the laser device. Laser is an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. This device produces an intense beam of light of a specific, known wavelength. Laser light...
is produced by high-energy stimulation of different substances such as crystals, liquid dyes, and gases. For skin resurfacing, two types of lasers produce light that is well absorbed by the upper to middle layers of the skin: light produced from carbon dioxide gas (CO2) and light produced from a crystal made of eribium, yttrium, aluminum, and garnet (Er:YAG). Combination lasers are also commercially available.
There are as yet no standard parameters for laser use in all skin resurfacing procedures. Settings are determined on a case-by-case basis by the laser surgeon who relies on his or her own experience.
Before the procedure begins, medication is often given to relax the patient and reduce pain. For small areas, local topical (surface-applied) anesthetics are often used to numb the area to be treated. Alternatively, for large areas, nerve block-type anesthesia is used. Some laser surgeons use conscious sedation (twilight anesthesia) alone or in combination with other techniques.
During the procedure, the patient lies on his or her back on the surgical table, eyes covered to protect them from the laser light. Laser passes are performed over the area being treated, utilizing computer control of the laser for precise results. In general, more passes are needed with Er:YAG lasers than carbon dioxide laser treatment.
Because areas of the body other than the face have relatively low numbers of the cells central to the healing process, laser skin resurfacing is not generally used anywhere but on the face, as elsewhere the healing process may be so slow as to result in scarring.
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We look at our skin everyday, but what does the skin look like up close and just under the surface. This animation shows what the skin would look like under magnification. The narrator explains the various things found within the skin such as hair follicles and sensory nerve endings.
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Laser resurfacing is a technique used during laser surgery wherein molecular bonds of a material are dissolved by a laser. It is used for the treatment of wrinkles, solar lentigenes, sun damage, scars (see acne scar treatment), stretch marks, actinic keratosis and telangiectasias or "spider veins" - a symptom of ataxia telangiectasia.
It can be combined with liposuction when this is done to remove excess fat from the chin and jaw area. The skin may be wrinkled after fat is removed and laser resurfacing can help tighten and smooth over the new contours.
Laser resurfacing is usually done with an Er:YAG 2940nm wavelength or CO2 10,600nm wavelength laser. Complete resurfacing was first done with a CO2 laser. More commonly now, a laser resurfacing is done with a fractional laser. The term fractional pertains to the method in which the laser light is transferred. Tiny pinpoints of laser light are used to deliver the laser to the surface of the skin in only a fraction of the area. Several hundred or thousands of pinpoints may be used per square inch, leaving healthy skin in between the ablated areas. This allows more rapid healing, and less risk.
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