Will a CO2 Resurfacing with a Sciton Laser Diminish Marionette Lines and Jowls?

Lasers and fractional lasers help greatly for skin tone and fine wrinkles.  They do not adjust jowls or correct volume loss.

Your picture shows a very pretty face with early signs of facial aging.

Patients such as yourself obtain their best results with a volume adjusting facelift and necklift.  Laser may be added as an adjunct treatment but is not a substitute.

A midface lift is the wrong procedure to correct jowling.  We reference several chapters and articles below.

I have a DeepFX laser and while it does wonders on fine wrinkles and acne scars, the limited skin tightening you see with laser resurfacing doesn't have a substantial effect on the folds and deep lines that occur around the mouth, as in your case. Fillers would be helpful. Lifting procedures would help as well.

First, let me tell you I have been a Sciton user for 5-10 years, so I am quite comfortable telling you what it can and can not do.  Sciton's laser is not CO2, but erbium.  Not really a big difference, given it's advanced generation power, meaning it can promise as much result as a CO2 but without the down time.  But the truth of the matter is that any resurfacing modality, whether it's erbium, CO2, or phenol peels, won't give you enough tissue tightening to really resolve your concerns for the marionette lines and jowls.  No resurfacing agent has that kind of tightening power.  Let me add that other tightening procedures like Sciton's Skintyte, Thermage, Titan, or other non surgical tightening technology are all pretty weak, and I don't recommend them.  Even though I have one.

Soft tissue fillers, on the other hand, are ideal for those two regions.  Immediate improvement, no down time, lasting, affordable, natural results.  Restylane, juvederm and radiesse are all options there, promising 6-14 mos of duration in most patients.  My preference is radiesse, and it's also the best value with the longest duration.

That still leaves the question of fine lines and skin discolorations.   You have a full spectrum of options for that, from dedicated skin care lines involving retin-a or glycolic acid like Obagi, to light peels and lasers.  Sciton has two options here, including their microlaser peel and their profractional peels.  We usually combine them to provide dramatic improvement with comfortable, rapid recovery.