Hi Les,
I agree with Dr. W. At 41 years old, you should be very pleased with the amount of tightening of your skin and improvement in wrinkles. By far patients are seeing much more skin tightening than with Fraxel restore treatments. Fraxel repair is a great treatment for the earliest signs of aging...early jowling and wrinkles.
This is a very powerful technology and is user dependent. Choose your physician most carefully. Last weekend I attended The Aesthetic Show in Las Vegas where the majority of attendees were non-cosmetic physicians and non-physicians looking to begin aesthetic practices. Even in the hands of the most experienced laser surgeons, there will be some complications with the burgeoning fractionated CO2 laser treatments (there are about 5 other laser companies bringing Fraxel-like fractionated CO2 lasers to market).
In the upcoming months, I am afraid that patients will be treated by practioners who don't have surgical laser experience, and don't have experience with the older traditional CO2 lasers. I am a huge proponent of this incredible technology, but anyone choosing this treatment should make sure that the physician treating them knows what they are doing. Though I recommend the Fraxel repair when performed properly, physicians can only be responsible for their own patients. Be well.
Dr. P
