medicaldestinationadvisor

Hello to everybody, today I am going to share with you what I was told by one of my most recent patient ladies who came from Modesto, California to have dental work done and also some laser skin rejuvenation treatment with a Fractional CO2 laser machine by DEKA.

She started by telling me that she was aware of her uneven and extremely dry skin complexion because of how much time she had spent in the sun. She says “I don’t regret the time I spent sailing the deep ocean—but I also wouldn’t mind fewer fine lines, wrinkles and sun spots.”

To find out more about options for herself, she met with a Californian-based laser specialist.

Here with me, she spent an hour telling me about her  specific skin concerns and filling me in on the information she learned about laser treatments in general.

Turns out, what I didn’t know about lasers, is a lot.

For instance:

It is pretty well known that most laser procedures create skin resurfacing—in the most literal sense. But you may not know that older, damaged skin flakes off and new younger-looking skin replaces it within a few days. Most laser resurfacing procedures use fractional technology, which splits one beam of light into many tiny beams that create thousands of tiny punctures over the surface of your skin. As the skin heals (and crusts and peels, and new skin grows), your complexion improves.  Collagen growth is also stimulated underneath the skin to fill in lines and wrinkles.

Some laser procedures are ablative. They intentionally burn your skin to treat the most severe skin damage, deep scars, and wrinkles. Ablative treatments can be fractional, or not.

“So where do I even begin,” she continued.   She asked the laser specialist for a recommendation.  The answer was to choose the Fractional CO2 laser and choose one of two ways to go.  She could get milder treatments on a consistent quarterly basis if she wanted to avoid the inconvenience and downtime associated with intensive treatments.  Or an intensive treatment with quicker results.

Milder non-intensive treatments are generally considered to be “maintenance” treatments.  They significanly improve the skin over time, She said. “It’s just a more ongoing process that takes longer to show results and perhaps you might end up paying more money for it.”  But, they can work very well for people whose skin concerns are fairly minor i.e. dull dry skin, small texture irregularities, pigment issues and fine lines.

Or, she could start with something more intense that requires more downtime—but makes a noticeable difference right away. From there, she explained she could move into occasional maintenance procedures. Either way, she said, “you’re going to have to go to maintenance” to prolong the results.

She said, “Sometimes it’s a choice between getting the most benefit that you can with the intensive treatment, or getting the more moderate treatment because you may have a skin type that is too sensitive for the intensive treatment. “

In general, people should consider four factors before deciding on a treatment:

1).  What your doctor recommends.

2).  How aggressive you want the procedure to be.

3).  How much downtime you can manage (usually 2 to 3 days for the intensive treatment, and 1 day for the moderate treatment).

4).  The price you’re comfortable in paying.

One very important thing to consider is whether a series of mild treatments (over a span of months or years) will actually be more expensive in the long run than one “big” procedure and occasional maintenance.

If you’re looking for a mid-level resurfacing laser, Fractional CO2 is the best option. The laser is more aggressive, which means it can help with a larger range of issues: sun damage, wrinkles, mild scars, and texture problems.

Here is a summary of the two choices, moderate vs. Intensive:

Moderate Fractional CO2 laser treatments.

A moderately adjusted laser will treat the skin’s surface with a less intensive laser light, improve the texture, color and tone, and stimulate the growth of collagen under the skin.

Once your damaged surface skin is gone, within a few days to a week depending on how aggressive your treatment, it’s replaced by a fresher, more radiant complexion and a layer of healthy skin.

Intensive Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment:

2 days of recovery and up to 1 week of downtime depending on how you heal.

Requires sedation.

Your outer layer of skin will shed within 2 days and a new skin will emerage to produce a more healty, beautiful complextion.  The underlying collagen growth is more deeply stimulated with the intensive approach and lines and wrinkles are repaired at a faster rate.

Overall, Fractional CO2 laser results can be beautiful and long lasting.

The results can be dramatic, but a lot depends on your laser specialist, especially since the laser can be used in two ways: at less aggressive settings to improve general complexion issues and sun damage, or as an intense, ablative, resurfacing laser to deal with acne scars, deep lines and wrinkles, and to help with skin tightening.

Used either way, it’s a pretty effective procedure—and one preferable to a chemical peel, which does not stimulate collage growth because it does not penétrate the dermis.

For the right person, C02 laser treatments can do an amazing job of improving very deeply wrinkled skin and removing or reducing certain scars.

According to my lady friend, she also recommends a Fractional CO2 treatment just around the eyes because it tightens the skin in that area.  It’s a procedure she’s personally had done. She said, “It’s going to take away the fine lines and improve texture. For that kind of treatment, there’s less downtime, maybe 2 to 3 days. You will need a little bit of sedation and you will need lidocaine injected for comfort.

At the end, she said that her final decision was based upon the information she received from the laser specialist in California.

She would go for the intensive Fractional CO2 laser skin rejuvenation and have it done in Costa Rica while having her dental work and pay way far less than half of the price she would have paid in California.  With the money she saved, she could put it towards a longer term maintenance program.   That was a smart move!

As a disclaimer, nothing in this article should be taken as medical advice, It is only general observations, so please be sure to ask your doctor all of your questions and follow his/her advice.

These are good resources for information about laser skin rejuvenations treatments in Costa Rica in case you are also considering having one:

Premier Laser Center of Costa Rica

ArrivaCostaRica

Both websites offer great information about the procedures.