Thank you for your question.
You submitted your question without a photo but you’re asking essentially how long after
giving birth and breastfeeding is it appropriate to do CO2 laser and fillers.
And you ask more about, in the substance of your question about how does pregnancy affect
the skin and what kind of impact there could be if you undergo a laser procedure and injectable
filler.
Well, I can certainly share with you how I guide my patients who very frequently ask
the same question in our practice.
A little bit of background, I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon and Fellowship-trained oculofacial
plastic and reconstructive surgeon.
I have been in practice in Manhattan and Long Island for over 20 years.
Rejuvenating the skin and rejuvenating the face is a very big part of what I do every
day in our practice.
And all the tools of the trade such as the use of lasers and injectable fillers and neurotoxins
is essentially how I help my patients look their best every day.
So to just simplify the effects of pregnancy in terms of the relative risk of the CO2 laser,
I would first start by asking what you want to do that requires CO2 lasers.
Generally speaking, we use the CO2 laser or the Erbium laser for essentially wrinkling
and discolorations with the secondary benefit of collagen induction.
So the question is, what are the potential risks related to pregnancy?
Well, one in particular has to do with pigmentation.
There’s a condition called melasma which is associated with pregnancy often referred
to as the mask of pregnancy.
So the effects of estrogen and hormonal changes on the skin.
Pigmentation is a variable that’s important to consider before undergoing a procedure
such as CO2 laser.
Many times, for things that we would maybe consider a CO2 laser for particular discolorations
related to conditions such as sun exposure or sun damage, we can use alternatives that
are non-ablative such as the Q-switch laser and basically try to minimize the effect of
the thermal energy on the skin.
Essentially, it is basically a rule of thumb to allow some time to transpire and when it
comes to something like a laser treatment.
And so I would say 6 months to go by just to get some sense of what the skin looks like
and what is the stability is before doing some kind of laser type of procedure.
The other thing about filler is that, as far as fillers are concerned, injectable fillers
that add volume such as anything in the hyaluronic acid family is pretty much safe to do at any
time.
I would say that dealing with the changes of hormonal levels after delivering, it’s
still going to have an effect on facial volume.
So, unless someone has a very thin face or a particular area of concern, we can either
choose to wait or conservatively add volume as is appropriate.
As far as the other options such as the use of a neurotoxin like Botox®, Dysport, Xeomin,
essentially that particular area is probably safe at any time.
There’s no data as to the relative risk for breastfeeding women but essentially because
it’s a localized treatment, it is very unlikely that there will be much in the serum that
would eventually be passed on to the baby.
So I think that you can consider, if you are used to getting Botox® with some consistently
or you like the effects whether it’s getting a Botox® brow lift or Botox® lip lift or
doing the things that go with Botox®, you can probably get that done a little bit sooner.
I think that the doctor you work with in terms of your injectables, lasers, should have a
sense of your history.
When we see our patients, a lot of times, our patients, we won’t see them for a while
and they’ll tell me that they just had a baby and of course, I have their photos before
and I do comparisons and I look at any changes and I try to counsel them accordingly.
But generally speaking, allowing about 6 months or so to transpire is a pretty safe zone after
which, you’re pretty much close to your pre-pregnancy baseline.
Again, depending on weight gain or other variables of course comes with this type of event in
one’s life.
So, I think the take home message of course is, have a doctor who will watch you and have
a sense of what is appropriate.
And again, ask yourself what specifically do you want to achieve with the CO2 laser.
You know, one last example, if someone wants to have just a little bit of CO2 laser, fractional
CO2 laser under their eyes to refresh any wrinkled skin, well that should be pretty
straightforward and it’s not likely to get significantly hyperpigmented depending on
your skin type.
So it just goes back to essentially more about specific strategies and what kind of outcome
and understanding what variables have an impact during this period of time.
So I hope that was helpful, I wish you the best of luck and thank you for your question.