Possible Sweat Gland Damage After Laser Treatments

I have a large hyperhidrosis practice and have seen patients get laser resurfacing for scars, and have never seen any long term effects in terms of reduction in the amount of sweating. If this were true, thousands of patients with excessive facial sweating would have found nirvana. Hundreds of thousands of patients suffer from facial sweating in the U.S. and this would be a life savior for them, however, this has not been found to be the case. Patients with facial sweating have social... more

The laser treatments you received (MicroLaser Peel and 20% ProFractional Laser Resurfacing) were directed to the deep superficial layer of the dermis. From the diagram below which illustrates the anatomy of the skin, the body of the sweat gland is located in the deeper layer of the dermis with the duct (tubule) penetrating the skin surface. Following the clinical treatments at 16 days, you are still in the early healing phase. No doubt, your face is still red indicative of new skin... more

Laser treatments typically only penetrate the first few layers of skin. Depending on the type of laser and the specifics of your treatment will vary the depth of your treatment. Most "resurfacing" or "fractional resurfacing" laser treatments penetrate relatively deeply into the dermis and are called "ablative therapy" because they are actually causing some degree of tissue destruction. Sweat glands are typically in the very deep dermis or hypodermis and have... more

Laser resurfacing leaves dead skin cells and debris on the skin after treatment. This debris coupled with swelling of the skin can block sweat glands and oil glands and can lead to acne outbreaks and milia, dilated sweat glands. Good skin care can solve this problem. Microdermabrasion helps. This is a temporary phenomena and will resolve as you heal.

The Micropeel ProFractional laser treatment you had is a fairly conservative approach. This is a very good laser and, if used appropriately, is highly unlikely to lead to problems. The sweat glands are deep in the skin and the laser usually will not damage them.

Dr. Goldstein has explained the anatomy in a pertinent, clear and succint manner. This is most unlikely to last. The sweat glands are located at a level at which any significant injury would incur scarring. If you have healed uneventfully from the laser then it is not likely you sustained any additional damage. Is it possible you underwent Botox treatments to the forehead around the same time. Some physicians like to pretreat with Botox to relax the wrinkles and allow more effective... more