As a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon, advance physician trainer for Lumenis CO2 fractional laser and as one of nine Lumenis Laser Centers of Excellence I can help you with this question. I also will be unbiased in my answer.It has been proven in several scientific/medical research papers that one ActiveFX is better and produces more collagen that a series of 5 Fraxel Erbium treatments. The patients are more happy with the ActiveFX results, have less total downtime, and it cost less to have one procedure versus 5 Fraxel Erbium.It is also my opinion that the combination of ActiveFX and DeepFX is far more superior to the treatment that the new Fraxel CO2 can deliver. I have done ActiveFX/DeepFX in hundreds of patients and trained many physicians how to do this procedure and I still get impressed with the results that I can get in my hands. I have the pictures to prove it. My pictures, not company pictures.My final word of advice is to always talk to your physician and verify his credentials. Ask how many of these has he done, ask to see pictures of his patients, not company pictures.
The active FX fractional CO2 laser a good treatment method for more superficial problems. These include lesions in the epidermis or upper level of the skin, such as pigmentation changes and very fine wrinkles. To treat the deeper lines, wrinkles and acne scars, I will first treat with the Deep FX and then go over the areas again with the Active FX. I agree with the other physicians, that the manufacturer's recommendations for power settings are conservative and that in experienced hands, the laser is used more aggressively, yet being mindful of the areas being treated. I think with any medical procedure, it's important for the treating physician to be honest and realistic with the patient as to what to expect, in terms of postoperative recovery time, pain, and results. There are many patients that I've treated with a single treatment and other patients such as those with acne scars, I explain that they will need multiple treatments. As with most resurfacing procedures, whether they are chemical peels or laser resurfacing, the deeper one goes, the more effective the results, and the more downtime.
