Skin Resurfacing in Denver

Skin Resurfacing helps smooth the texture of the skin by minimizing wrinkles, bringing evenness to pigmentation and reducing acne scars.

The term "resurfacing" refers to a variety of techniques. They have in common the fact that they remove the outer skin layers, which, after healing, results in smoother and somewhat tighter skin. This is accomplished because the removal process stimulates the body to form new collagen elastic fibers. It is just these kinds of fibers that have been broken and lost in the aging process. At Grossman Plastic Surgery, our surgeons use either laser or a chemical peel. Each process has its pros and cons. The Phenol chemical peel is very effective at smoothing skin. Lasering refers to a process that uses "light energy" produced by a machine, such as the CO2 (carbon dioxide) resurfacing laser.

Certain characteristics make you a better candidate for laser or a chemical peel depending on your skin type, the severity of any sun damage, the extent of uneven pigmentation and the depth of skin imperfections. A physical examination by a plastic surgeon is recommended in order to determine which procedure is right for you. The word laser is actually an acronym, a word in which each letter of the word stands for another word. Therefore, when we write the word laser, we actually should be spelling it as l.a.s.e.r. The term laser is the acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". It is really a generic word, since there are many, many different kinds of lasers. For medical use alone, there are numerous lasers.

There are types and makes of lasers that are too numerous to mention. Therefore, we will mention those employed by Dr. Grossman, Dr. Capraro, their staff, and the Nurse Clinicians at Facial Aesthetics ®.

Resurfacing lasers have become the method of choice for Dr. Grossman and Dr. Capraro and most plastic surgeons in the treatment of fine and coarse facial skin wrinkling, acne scarring, abnormal pigmentation, and even precancerous sun damaged skin. It is more precise and controlled than deep chemical peels and dermabrasion.

The CO2 (carbon dioxide) resurfacing is commonly used for resurfacing the skin. It works on the principle mentioned earlier of delivering laser energy in short, rapid bursts to the skin surface cells and vaporizing them. With pinpoint accuracy, the laser allows us to remove one layer at a time, eliminating sun-damage, brown spots, and freckles, while at the same time reducing or removing wrinkles by stimulating your body to produce new elastic fibers to tighten and smooth the skin. Except for small areas, a general anesthetic is used for CO2 resurfacing. It may be done as an outpatient although many patients choose to spend one night in our aftercare facilities.

Healing for the CO2 laser usually requires about 2 weeks, at which time makeup can be applied. During the healing process, soothing ointments are applied. There is usually not much pain associated with the healing. Once healed, the skin is often flawlessly smooth and particularly deep wrinkle lines are significantly reduced and smoothed. The treated skin will be red in color (like a sunburn) for about 4-6 months, gradually fading to a shade that is slightly lighter in color than the surrounding skin. There are some risks to this procedure, however, laser resurfacing produces one of the most dramatic smoothing and rejuvenating effects of the skin where deep wrinkle lines and acne scars have been present.