Laser Resurfacing: Stories

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Laser Dermabrasion - NYC

  • Worth It
  • Cost: $3,000
  • bruce katz (Manhattan, NY)

About 15 years ago, I had my entire face lasered...

  • 3 Apr 2009

About 15 years ago, I had my entire face lasered to remove sun damage and brown spots. I did it at my dermatologist's (moneymaking) suggestion, since I had just gone in for some spot removal.

It left my face looking like a skinned knee for about two terrible weeks - oozing, red and scabbed (although if you use the suggested ointment, it doesn't actually scab, and therefore, doesn't scar.) It was a godawful disaster, though, and I thought I was out of my mind to have done it.

Very gradually, it healed to a bright pink (like a knee would) and then to a paler pink, and finally, to skin again. And here's the amazing thing. I had a child's skin. Pink cheeks, no blemishes, no wrinkles. And that skin has lasted for 15 years!!!__so today, I still look 15 years younger than I am (I'm 70). Of all the procedures I've had (facelifts, etc), this one is by far the most lasting and effective. To get the full benefit, I suspect you should do it before you're too old. Like my age!

The only procedure I was satisfied with was the...

  • 11 Feb 2011
The only procedure I was satisfied with was the aforementioned. One other was a disaster.

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He does a decent job, but he's a showboat and a salesman. Big on PR, not so big on patients. Want to be treated like meat? Here's your chance.

Comments (24)

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They've now moved this thread from "dermabrasion" to Laser resurfacing.
  • Reply
I think you didn't have dermabrasion. From your comment below, you had surface ablative laser?
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CO2 is said to potentially leave the skin a "waxy" white, absent the "glow" we lose as we age. This is also true of a phenol chemical peel, the deepest peel, which leaves the skin without lines, but unfortunately without color or depth. I am almost convinced that the new suggested protocol for older women is a series of peels, be it chemical or laser, is the way to go. The responsible doctors are recommending five to six lighter peels, done two months apart. It certainly is painstakingly slow, but you lessen the risk of damaging thinner skin. As to your question "what kind of CO2?", I've heard pro's and con's about fractional, most of the con's have been on this website. I'm still not educated enough to form an opinion.
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I am confused. You are saying CO2 surface ablation leaves the skin that way, and (it seems) Erbium too, but also that columnar ablation does? Lighter peels don't take away wrinkles or lines, do they?
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A series of lighter and medium peels is the protocol. Skin is given time to rebuild and then is ablated again. Older skin (and I don't know at what age "older" is, but it can also depend on the quality of the skin) cannot be depended upon to recover or react the same as younger skin. It is a cautionary way to go, but certainly the process can be more aggressive if the skin is responding well.
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When you say peels: do you mean laser ablative resurfacing peel (which this person went through, not dermabrasion -- this thread is in the wrong category) or do you mean chemical peels?
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I was referring to laser ablative peels. But, I have also had two dermatologists recommend a series of three 30% TCA peels. Some of these doctors still have more faith in the consistency of results from chemical peels. The final outcome should be the same.
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Hm. I wonder if that can reduce actual lines ... static ones.
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I would be surprised if you had dermabrasion on your cheeks, as I have had two dermatologists tell me that they do not do "spot" dermabrasion, as there is very definitely a change in skin color after the procedure. The two lasers that I have been told are "fairly" reliable to use on parts of the face...for instance, doing only the upper lip...are Erbium and CO2, with the Erbium laser being the most reliable not to leave your skin "two toned".
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hi, i have a quick question. i have brown skin and just had dermabrasion on my cheeks about 2 weeks ago; it's healing quite well. my skin is now light pink (sucks to try to conceal with makeup). How long did it to take for normal skin to reappear?
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Depends on how deep the exfoliation was but probably a few weeks. The thing is that normally it's built up in the layers of skin.
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Wrong category.
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Hi, just a note. I checked Dr. Bruce Katz on Bing and he had quite a bit of bad reviews, mostly because he advertises himself so flashly...
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Diane I'm so happy for you for getting such a wonderful result! But I got news for you - MOST physicians and other professionals behave that way and their staff may also be intolerably rude and useless! I could easily put up with such things if I knew for certain I'll get the proper results. I'm from NYC, may I have his/her name and contact please? Thanks very much!
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Sounds like a laser treatment, not dermabrasion. Can you find out exactly what it was, and what laser he used?
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It was the very first laser to come out.
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I have a derm who is very famous locally for doing dermabrasion, and he has done it for thirty-five years!! He has another doc in the office who does lasers and other procedures, but he sticks with dermabrasion. He wanted me to have it when I was thirty, and he wants me to have it now, thirty years later! I never did. My main reason is that I have friends who have done it and there is a line of delineation at the jaw line, because the skin on the neck is too thin for this radical procedure. So your face and neck don't match, and that is an okay result for some, but it never was for me. You have to wear makeup at all times, and if your neck is crepey, you are going to have to do something different about that. It is very painful, very invasive.
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It's painful, but no more than a skinned knee. It isn't at all invasive, either. It anything is superficial, it's skin. (And after all, they became derms because they didn't care for surgery! That's invasive.) I do have that delineation you mention, and because my neck isn't crepey, I simply put a little foundation or powder on my neck, because it's sun-mottled. Then they're a perfect match!
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I guess you had ablative laser CO2 or Erbium, NOT dermabrasion. But glad u love the results. At least you mention the skin delineation tone change.
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CO2 and Erbium promise not to leave the line of demarcation, dermabrasion, however, does. I was shown my dermatologists latest photos, in which he pointed that out, and said that since I have long hair it would not be as noticeable. Erbium is reported to be the most reliable for not leaving demarcation, so it is ideal for doing "spot" areas, as is often done around the mouth. They are all traumatic, however. The nurse who does botox for me said she has done CO2, and although she is thrilled with the results, when she described the pain she said she was curled up in the fetal position for two days!!
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Thanks. --- That much pain? What kind of CO2? Really?! --- People seem to look pinker and paler on Erbium or CO2, but it's called "better skin quality". I have seen demarcation. Is the Erbium you speak of not fully ablative, just fractional? Thank you for engaging me in discussion.
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At the time, it was brand new, and the only laser treatment available, so I didn't ask what it was. Sorry, I can't help you there. It wasn't memorably painful, however. Just hideous to look at for a while and a nuisance, in that I couldn't go out for a couple of weeks. At 74, my skin still gets compliments. And at 74, I'm happy for anything I get!!!
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So you had full ablative surface removal. Right? Do you look pinky-pale slightly?
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I had full ablative surface removal, yes. I have fair skin, but my cheeks, which were rosy when I was a girl - and had lost that glow - are rosy again.
  • Reply

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