CO2 Laser

Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing is used to treat a variety of skin conditions. Carbon dioxide lasers very precisely remove thin layers of skin with minimal heat damage to the surrounding structures.

Carbon dioxide lasers treat:

  1. Wrinkles (rhytides)
  2. Photodamage
  3. Scars
  4. Warts
  5. Linear epidermal nevi (birthmarks)
  6. Rhinophyma (enlarged oil glands on the nose)

The lasers have been in use for many years to treat non-cancerous (benign) and cancerous (malignant) skin conditions. A new generation of carbon dioxide lasers uses very short-pulsed light energy (ultrapulsed) or continuous light beams that are delivered in a scanning pattern.

The ability to rejuvenate sun-damaged, wrinkled skin has been revolutionized by this new technology.

What can be expected during and after carbon dioxide laser resurfacing?

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing is usually performed on an outpatient basis, using local anesthesia in combination with sedative medications given by mouth or through a vein.

The areas to be treated are numbed with a local anesthetic. General anesthesia may be used when the entire face is treated. Wrinkles around the eyes, mouth or forehead may be treated individually, or a full-face laser resurfacing may be performed.

A partial-face laser resurfacing takes 30 to 45 minutes, and the full-face treatment takes one-and-a-half to two hours.