The patient is a 63 year old woman who reported that she felt she looked a lot older than her stated age and also older than her friends. She lived in Temecula and was active in the community and just wanted to be able to fit in without feeling she looked old. She was also bothered by the brown spots on her skin. She had searched online and for laser skin resurfacing and had read about the procedure. She had some “down time” of about one week and wondered if she could fit this treatment into her time off.
Laser Skin Resurfacing
The patient had her procedure and it was performed comfortably under local anesthesia with oral sedation. She was able to begin her skin care to heal the laser areas when she got home and was seen the next day. Her skin care was excellent. She continued her skin care and her skin was healed in 7 days. She was able to wear makeup at nine days after the treatment.
The patient was very happy with the results of her laser treatment, the rapidity of her healing and that only one treatment was required. She mentioned at her follow-up she could fit in better socially without feeling that she appeared older than her friends and coworkers. She also commented that the procedure was a great investment.because of the cost of laser skin resurfacing.
What is Laser Skin Resurfacing?
Laser treatment uses laser light to remove facial wrinkles. Generally, only one treatment is required. One special thing about the laser is that there is down time to allow for healing. Patients are able to walk outside with a hat and sunglasses after their procedure but because the skin is pink and moist, patients are generally not scheduling work or social meetings until their skin has healed.
How Does the Laser Work?
The skin of the area to be treated by the laser is numbed just like when going to the dentist. Most patients tolerate laser treatment with only this local anesthesia with some oral sedation (pills by mouth). If they have only local anesthesia and no oral or other kind of sedation, they have the option of driving home themselves but having a “ride” is always preferable. The laser can also be performed under conscious sedation or even under general anesthesia if the patient wishes. Laser treatments are often performed when patients have a face lift and facelifts are usually performed under general anesthesia.
After the skin is completely numb, laser light is used to remove the surface layers of the skin that contain the wrinkles. This leaves baby skin that is pink and moist and requires healing. Patients are instructed to do skin care and this care is very similar to the application of makeup and other types of skin care that patients do as part of their usual skin care regime and so most patients are very good at the cleansing of their skin after laser treatment.
The deeper the wrinkles, the deeper the laser needs to go to remove the wrinkles and the longer it takes for the skin to heal. As soon as the skin is healed, makeup can be applied as a concealer as the skin is pink. Generally, it takes four to five days till patients can wear makeup when laser treatment is done around the eyelids and Crow’s foot areas and seven to nine days when the laser is used around the mouth as these wrinkles are deeper but there are exceptions.
Do laser treatments work for wrinkles?
In the lower eyelid and Crow’s foot area, the laser is usually able to remove 80-90% of the wrinkles. For the area around the mouth anywhere from 80 to 90% of the wrinkles can be eradicated with the laser. That translates into a terrific improvement and a great change for patients and makes the downtime more than worth it because the results can be dramatic. Of course, the degree to which a patient can have improvement relates to the depth of the wrinkles, their location and the patient’s skin type.
How much does laser treatment for wrinkles cost?
Laser skin resurfacing cost is quite reasonable and probably the most affordable facial plastic surgery procedures. At your consultation, areas to be treated with the laser can be evaluated and the price determined.
