Julian Orenstein, MD

Thanks for this honest - and fairly frequent - question. Kybella is a treatment to biologically destroy fat. Your body's biological response is an 'inflammatory' response, which means: swelling. If you didn't have swelling after a Kybella treatment, it means it won't work! That can be a surprise for many people, so I feel it's worth repeating: no swelling after Kybella means no results. The time your body takes to reabsorb the swelling - and the fat! - can take six or eight weeks, possibly even longer in some people, and for this reason, repeated treatments are recommended when the swelling is resolving and there's still an undesirable degree of fat.

So, counter-intuitive as it may seem, the more swelling you get, the more you should look for a good response in the end.

As always, consult your treatment team for the correct expectatons for your individual results.

Thanks for your question. There are already a couple of generations of technology designed for tattoo removal: Q-switch, Pico-switched and they achieve impressive results. In your case, I'm seeing a couple factors that ought to get you a good result.

First: it's black ink, the color most susceptible to laser treatment. Blues and greens usually also respond with a few treatments, while reds and yellows may need the newer generation (Pico-switched) devices to get acceptable results in fewer sessions.

Second: it's small. The laser delivers ink-busting energy through a handpiece which covers only a certain area. A whole-back tattoo, for example, is going to take a lot more time because the handpiece has to go spot by spot, and you'll want a good playlist to get through it all! 

The cost and number of treatments are determined by your provider, who can also provide clear, realistic expectations for the treatment itself as well as the care you need to provide to allow for optimal healing. Good luck!

This is a good question and raises an important issue.

First, lasers should not in general treat moles, since the melanin in the cells will absorb the laser energy, as you experienced. This creates a minor burn, the superficial skin layer falls off, and the pink skin below is healing, regenerative tissue.

I could not tell you if the pigment will return when this wound completely heals: the color you are accustomed to may or may not come back! This is a detail that should be discussed ahead of time when you are doing your initial consultation.

The healing process may take another 10-14 days. during that time keep it moist with Aquaphor (or similar product) and a triple antibiotic ointment (Neosporin, Bacitracin, etc.). 

This should be looked at by your doctor (or Dermatologist) for follow up -- and sooner if it appears to be getting infected.




Best of luck! 

Based on your information, the amount of botox placed sounds about right. You should notice some difference with your eyebrows after 7-10 days. However, some patients do not respond as quickly and might take two weeks to see a true difference. If you have not noticed a difference by now, follow up with your provider to discuss this issue. 

Laser hair removal causes no fertility problems for men.

Laser treatment directs bursts of energy to the skin (epidermis and dermis) only. Sperm production in the testes is anatomically remote and completely unaffected. This is an understandable concern, as you are likely to have heard that sitting in a hot tub or bath can heat the testes and lower sperm counts. Because laser treatments are essentially pinpoint energy pulses, it would be like lighting a match in New York and not feeling warmer in Philadelphia.