- In this video, I am going to be talking
about laser resurfacing,
if its right for you,
and what to expect should you have the procedure.
Firstly, what is laser skin resurfacing?
Laser skin resurfacing is a process
which uses a laser to remove the top layers
of skin from the face as well as heat
the underlying layers of the skin and tighten skin.
So, it's best used on people who have wrinkles
or skin texture concerns, and it's also used
for those who have a lot of sun damage
or skin pigmentation.
Also, it's a a very good skin tightening procedure.
In particular, it's good for tightening skin
around the eyes.
Most commonly, two lasers are used,
and these are the carbon dioxide laser
and the erbium laser.
Because these lasers are attracted to water,
and the skin is mostly comprised of water,
these lasers are able to take a layer of skin off
by vaporizing a very fine layer
of skin just on the surface.
Usually, this is where all the skin irregularities
or sun damage has occurred.
In addition to this, the carbon dioxide laser
heats a layer of skin underneath
the layer of skin that it vaporizes,
and this helps to shrink the skin
by denaturing the collagen,
which makes it bounce back into a tighter shape.
The erbium laser doesn't have this ability
to heat and tighten skin,
but it's able to remove and vaporize skin
with very little residual heat energy.
So we use this as a secondary part
of our laser resurfacing
to clean up any debris that might be left on the skin.
Laser resurfacing is generally limited
to those people who have very fair skin types.
It is most commonly used on the face.
However, it can be used also
on the neck and chest and back of hands.
However, these areas, because they don't heal
as well as the face, tend to require
a much lower laser setting.
So at your first consultation with your doctor,
your doctor will take
a comprehensive medical history from you,
and examine your skin.
They'll see whether your skin is suited
to this procedure, and whether your skin type
is suited to this procedure.
This procedure can be done
with light intravenous sedation to a general anesthetic.
The procedure is done in an operating theater
under sterile conditions to prevent
any bacteria from infecting
the newly resurfaced skin.
Local anesthetic is injected into the face prior to laser,
and this helps to give you a degree
of pain relief once the procedure is done.
In most cases we apply the carbon dioxide laser twice,
and do two passes, and this is followed
by one or two passes of the erbium laser.
After the procedure, the skin appears very red and raw,
and is quite swollen as a result of the laser
in addition to the local anesthetic that is injected.
Vaseline is applied to the skin after the procedure,
and this needs to be continued
for about seven to 10 days afterwards.
You may experience a fairly significant degree
of heat for the first day after the procedure is done.
Recovery from laser resurfacing is generally long.
In most cases it takes about one to two weeks
before you can even go out of the house.
In most cases, we recommend that you take
two weeks off of your normal activities or work,
and usually by the 10 to 14 day mark,
you can apply your normal make-up.
Redness may persist for two to three months.
However, during this time, you are able to wear make-up
to cover up this redness.
Aftercare following laser resurfacing
is extremely important for you
to get the best results possible.
Firstly, it's important to wash your face
four times a day after laser resurfacing.
You can start this either the night
of the procedure or the next morning.
After washing the face, it's important
to apply Vaseline to the face immediately
and keep the face moist at all times.
This is important so the skin doesn't crack and dry
and scab prematurely.
You'll be required to come into our clinic
for the first four to five days
to have your face washed by one of our nurses,
and to have skin checked by one of our doctors.
What we have found is that patients
are much more comfortable coming in every day,
although it is a bit of a hassle,
because that way they feel reassured
that they know that they're doing the right thing.
Also it gives the doctors an opportunity
to check on the skin and to see if there's any infection,
which is really the main risk of this procedure.
Before undertaking any procedure,
it is important to understand
the risks and complications associated with it.
With laser resurfacing, there are a few complications
that you should be aware of.
Firstly, there may be some skin complications
that occur, and these may include
prolonged redness or sensitivity of the skin,
easy flushing of the skin,
and this may last for up to six months.
Occasionally the skin may react
after laser resurfacing with milia or acne formation.
This, left untreated, usually resolves itself.
It is important not to touch these
or disrupt these in any way.
Infection is one of the real concerns
when we do laser resurfacing of the skin.
Because the skin is raw and left highly susceptible
to bacterial or viral infection,
we usually like to examine you on a daily basis
to see what the status of your skin is,
as well as to prescribe some anti-viral
and antibiotic medication for you
before and after the procedure.
Should there be any sign of infection
such as painful, more red or pussy area,
we immediately need to take a swab from this area
and send it off to the labs to see
if there is any bacteria growing.
If there is any bacteria growing,
we need to treat it immediately
with strong antibiotics,
and make sure there are no consequences
from this infection.
Quite commonly after laser resurfacing,
the skin can become a slight shade lighter
than its normal color.
Usually when do laser resurfacing,
we finish just under the jaw-line,
so this change in color isn't perceptible.
Darkening of the skin is another side effect
that occurs, although this tends
to occur less commonly.
If darkening of the skin does occur,
a lightening serum will need
to be used for a few months,
and this will return the skin back to its previous color.
Scarring is an uncommon complication of this procedure.
If it occurs, it is usually the result
of infection which has not been properly treated.
There are also risks as a result
of the sedation or anesthesia,
and with modern anesthesia, these risks are very low.
In most cases, people equate the risk of anesthesia
to the risk of driving a car.
Laser resurfacing is a very effective procedure.
It's something we do a lot of
at the Victorian Cosmetic Institute.
What I love about this procedure
is the fact that it causes profound improvements
in the skin.
The degree of skin tightening
for a non-surgical procedure is impressive,
and the degree of wrinkle improvement
and skin texture improvement
is also very impressive and profound.