Hi,
I have had two procedures, out of three. The goal is to smooth out chicken-pox scarring (adult onset). I did not experiece swelling around my eyes (though saw two other patients with extreme swelling), but the rest of the experience is similar to yours.
The first treatment turned out to be more traumatic, with a lot of scabs, swelling, etc, and the redness persisted about 4 weeks; I was a hermit for about three weeks, as my face looked really red.
My doc didn't use a numbing cream, instead he injected various areas of the face, neck and chest with anesthetic, and gave me a calming sedative. I fell asleep and didn't feel a thing.
My only complaint is that my doctor didn't alert me as to what I was going to look like post-op and I was shocked (so were others!)... it looked bad. But, after seeing other patients on my follow-up visit, it seems normal.
About five weeks later, I had the second treatment, and it seems my skin responded better, and the healing was faster. After one week, my face looked red, but without swelling. I am on week four now,since the 2nd treatment, and now I only have a "sun kissed" look, which to be frank, looks pretty, but that will go away, too.
Seems the skin is better equipped to handle the on-slaught better on subsequent treatments. So far, I think the results are positive!
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Posted to Fraxel Repair Side Effects on 24 Jun 2009