Facial Resurfacing & Laser skin resurfacing Orange County

Patient Specific Questions | FAQ | Photo Gallery

View More Before and After Photos

Procedure: Elimination and reduction of fine to medium wrinkles, uneven pigmentation, sun damage, acne scarring, age spots and other skin problems using a) Erbium laser or b) CO2 laser, which result in ablation (evaporation) or thermal damage to damaged/aged areas of skin; thermal exposure triggers increased production of collagen rejuvenating the appearance of aging face (particularly around the eyes and mouth), neck and hands

Length: Several minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the size of the treatment area and the depth of the imperfections

Anesthesia: For small areas, patients are usually administered a local anesthetic that is sometimes combined with an oral sedative.  For facial resurfacing of the entire face, patients are either administered intravenous sedation or general anesthesia.

Place of Treatment: Physician’s office-based facility, outpatient facility or at a hospital

Recovery:

1. Erbium laser: Patients can usually resume normal activities and return to work between 7 to 10 days after treatment.  It may take a few weeks for your skin tone to appear normal.
2. CO2 laser: Patients can usually resume normal activities and return to work within 2 to 3 weeks.  It should take between 3 to 8 weeks for your skin tone to appear normal.

Duration of Results: Facial resurfacing results generally last for several years, varying upon each patient’s diligence to protect their skin from the sun and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Over time, natural facial movements and expressions will also cause wrinkles to deepen. Patients may require additional facial resurfacing procedures in the future to maintain their rejuvenated appearance.

Side Effects: Side effects are events that may be experienced by patients as a result of your surgery and should not be considered adverse events. Our patients are counseled regarding these effects and if experienced they are tolerable and often temporary in duration.

1. Redness: Patients may experience redness for several weeks, or longer, depending on the size of the treated area and method of treatment.  The redness will become pink and gradually lighten to your natural skin color over time.
2. Crusting: Immediately after treatment, the skin may appear red or pink and be covered with a fine layer of crust.  The crusting usually subsides within 1 to 2 weeks and protective sun block and emollient should be worn during this time.
3. Mild swelling: Mild swelling may occur after treatment and usually subsides within several days to one week.

Risks: Risks are unwanted events that may occur during or following surgery. These events are recognized as “complications” but their occurrence is minimized by appropriate patient selection, proper surgical decision making, effective surgical technique, and thorough preoperative and postoperative patient management.

1. Infection:  Infection may occur after treatment, but is generally avoided by rinsing the skin several times a day with cool tap water.  Applying an emollient to the skin or using occlusive dressings to retain moisture in the skin also promotes healing and minimizes the risk of infection.
2. Irregular pigmentation: Some patients may experience hyper-pigmentation (darkening of the skin) or hypo-pigmentation (lightening of the skin) as a result of skin resurfacing.  However, skin discoloration has treatments available.  Skin discoloration after facial resurfacing may be permanent in some cases, especially when deep laser treatment is required.
3. Burns: Heat from the laser power may cause burns.  To minimize the likelihood of burn injuries, a coolant is used during laser resurfacing.
4. Scarring: Although scarring may occur in some cases, the risk of scarring is very low for facial resurfacing procedures.  Furthermore, the appearance of scars can be reduced with skin medication.