I am looking to have traditional co2 laser, not fraxel. One doctors office is telling me that they use a combination of Halcion and Demerol. Is this enough for me not to feel any discomfort?
June 3, 2014
Answer: Sedation for laser resurfacing In my practice I use the Lumenis Ultrapulse CO2 laser which has handpieces that give a "fractional" treatment. This does mean it less deep but rather that there is a small bit of tissue that is left as normal between each laser pulse. Most of the newer lasers offer this technique. It is now what I consider to be the standard CO2 laser. A Fraxel laser is also fractionated but is not CO2. Remember, Fraxel is just a brand name and not a type of treatment. Most of time we use oral sedation (Vicodin and Xanax to relieve both anxiety and pain) 45 minutes before the procedure as well as topical creams for local anesthesia. This is enough for most of my patients. I will give injections of local anesthesia as needed but prefer to do this only if the patient has pain during the procedure. I believe the local anesthesia injections cause more swelling and possible bruising which can extend the healing process. For patients who are extremely anxious and want to feel or remember no pain, we use a heavy IV sedation (Propofol, Fentanyl and Ketamine) administered by a board certified anesthesiologist in our fully certified surgical facility. Each doctor has a different way of decreasing pain during the procedure and you must be comfortable with the physician and their results. If you remain nervous about the procedure ask the doctor if you can speak to one of their patients who has had the laser treatment.
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June 3, 2014
Answer: Sedation for laser resurfacing In my practice I use the Lumenis Ultrapulse CO2 laser which has handpieces that give a "fractional" treatment. This does mean it less deep but rather that there is a small bit of tissue that is left as normal between each laser pulse. Most of the newer lasers offer this technique. It is now what I consider to be the standard CO2 laser. A Fraxel laser is also fractionated but is not CO2. Remember, Fraxel is just a brand name and not a type of treatment. Most of time we use oral sedation (Vicodin and Xanax to relieve both anxiety and pain) 45 minutes before the procedure as well as topical creams for local anesthesia. This is enough for most of my patients. I will give injections of local anesthesia as needed but prefer to do this only if the patient has pain during the procedure. I believe the local anesthesia injections cause more swelling and possible bruising which can extend the healing process. For patients who are extremely anxious and want to feel or remember no pain, we use a heavy IV sedation (Propofol, Fentanyl and Ketamine) administered by a board certified anesthesiologist in our fully certified surgical facility. Each doctor has a different way of decreasing pain during the procedure and you must be comfortable with the physician and their results. If you remain nervous about the procedure ask the doctor if you can speak to one of their patients who has had the laser treatment.
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May 27, 2014
Answer: Sedation for standard (not fractional) CO2 laser treatment. As noted in the title, there is significant difference experienced with the various lasers as there may be a significant difference in the result. Traditional laser (Of which I believe the Coherent Ultrapulse is the original cosmetic CO2 laser and still the gold standard) is considerable more painful because it penetrates more deeply than shallow lasers such as Erbium or even the fractional CO2 lasers (which give less improvement than Ultrapulse to scars, aging, etc) Short of very deep sedation or general anesthesia there is no painless laser procedure. However, most patients find the treatments tolerable under oral sedation and topical anesthetic or injection blocks. Oral fentanyl or a combination of valium to tranquilize and oxycodone to provide pain relief along with topical is my most common method.
Helpful
May 27, 2014
Answer: Sedation for standard (not fractional) CO2 laser treatment. As noted in the title, there is significant difference experienced with the various lasers as there may be a significant difference in the result. Traditional laser (Of which I believe the Coherent Ultrapulse is the original cosmetic CO2 laser and still the gold standard) is considerable more painful because it penetrates more deeply than shallow lasers such as Erbium or even the fractional CO2 lasers (which give less improvement than Ultrapulse to scars, aging, etc) Short of very deep sedation or general anesthesia there is no painless laser procedure. However, most patients find the treatments tolerable under oral sedation and topical anesthetic or injection blocks. Oral fentanyl or a combination of valium to tranquilize and oxycodone to provide pain relief along with topical is my most common method.
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