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Laser resurfacing of the skin is a method to make the skin of the face younger looking. Although it is not ‘surgery’, it is a procedure which requires some degree of sedation or anesthesia. It can be performed in an office setting or it can be done in the operating suite at the same time other procedures are being done.
Who benefits from this procedure?
Think of the aging face as an old house. For example, if part of the house is tilting because it is settling into softer ground, it would be like the neckline sagging. Structural work, or surgery is needed. If the house is structurally sound, but the paint is cracking and peeling, it is like sun damaged wrinkly skin. It needs removing the old paint and applying a new coat of paint. Laser gets rid of the old layers of skin, and makes the body regenerate a new layer of skin.
A person with sun damaged skin and many fine wrinkles, who nevertheless has very good facial structure is the ideal candidate for laser resurfacing. A person whose skin is sagging but doesn’t have fine wrinkling of the skin is better off with facelift surgery. The older patient with sagging structures and fine wrinkling of the skin will benefit from a combined approach of facial surgery and laser resurfacing.
What is involved in the procedure?
The procedure can be done under ‘twilight’ or general anesthesia. The laser evaporates the top layers (epidermis) of skin. This top layer will continue to peel or shed for the next few days and a new layer will then regenerate. The skin must be protected during the healing period by applying ointments every few hours, or a gel dressing that can stay on for 12 hours, or a silicone dressing that can stay on for a few days. We prefer the gel dressing method for its comfort and because it allows for frequent cleansing of the skin. The skin is usually completely healed by 5 to 7 days after surgery. Redness of the skin may persist anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months, but it can be covered with cosmetics. Patients should protect the skin from sun exposure afterwards.
Cost
The surgical fee depends on the areas to be resurfaced. The physician’s fee for full facial laser resurfacing $400.
Dr. Somsak Kunachakr is a board certified plastic surgeon specialising in cosmetic surgery procedures in Kasemrad Cosmetic Surgery Center, Bangkok, Thailand. His expertise includes facelift, rhinoplasty, tummy tuck, body lift, liposuction, sex change surgery and breast enhancement procedures, such as breast augmentation, breast lift and breast reduction.
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