With all due respect to my colleagues who have responded thus far, I totally disagree that any laser is immune to complications. In the proper hands and relying on significant experience, the potential for risks should be minimal.
Still, we have seen patients who have come to us after having Fraxel treatments outside of our practice who are not only disappointed in the promises made to them but who also have problems with hypopigmentation.
Traditional CO2 resurfacing can in fact tighten skin and reduce the appearance of deep wrinkles, but expecting the same of any procedure that heals in less than a week is probably not very realistic, based on my 15 years of experience in performing laser procedures.
I utilize both the traditional and fractional technologies in our practice, but I spend more time telling patients what to expect and making sure they have realistic expectations than I do in performing the actual procedures.
