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Co2 Laser resurfacing dissolves fillers?

I have had Juvederm injected into the tip and columella of my nose 2 months ago. I have just had a Co2 Laser done on my nose, I feel like the filler has dissolved, is this possible?

Doctor Answers 9

Co2 Laser resurfacing dissolves fillers?

June 28th, 2015
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Dear Phillippe212,
Thank you so much for your question. It is unlikely that the CO2 laser will have any detrimental effect on you previous filler injection. The swelling that can occur in your face and nose may temporarily distort your nose and may mask the effect of the filler. You should return to "normal" as your laser heals.
Best wishes during your recovery.
Kevin L. Smith, MD, FACS


Charlotte Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 42 reviews

June 28th, 2015

Co2 Laser resurfacing dissolves fillers?

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Dear Phillippe212,
Thank you so much for your question. It is unlikely that the CO2 laser will have any detrimental effect on you previous filler injection. The swelling that can occur in your face and nose may temporarily distort your nose and may mask the effect of the filler. You should return to "normal" as your laser heals.
Best wishes during your recovery.


Charlotte Plastic Surgeon

Lasers and fillers

July 2nd, 2015
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A common question in our practice is how soon after a filler treatment can they undergo a laser procedure or vice versa.  The majority of filler is injected into a deep dermal or subcutaneous plane depending on what filler you are using in what area.  The depth of a CO2 laser will not reach this when being used for facial resurfacing.  Much more likely is that the swelling caused by the treatment make the results from your filler treatment less perceptible.  The results from the filler should return as the swelling dissipates.  
Cody A. Koch, MD, PhD

Cody A. Koch, MD, PhD
Des Moines Facial Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 16 reviews

July 2nd, 2015

Lasers and fillers

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A common question in our practice is how soon after a filler treatment can they undergo a laser procedure or vice versa.  The majority of filler is injected into a deep dermal or subcutaneous plane depending on what filler you are using in what area.  The depth of a CO2 laser will not reach this when being used for facial resurfacing.  Much more likely is that the swelling caused by the treatment make the results from your filler treatment less perceptible.  The results from the filler should return as the swelling dissipates.  

Cody A. Koch, MD, PhD
Des Moines Facial Plastic Surgeon

Lasers and fillers

July 2nd, 2015
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Thank you for asking about your Juvederm.

Lasers do not tend to dissolve fillers.
The most likely explanation is that swelling of the nose from the laser has made the filler temporarily disappear under the swelling.

Always see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Hope you found this answer helpful. Best wishes.
Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD
July 2nd, 2015

Lasers and fillers

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
Thank you for asking about your Juvederm.

Lasers do not tend to dissolve fillers.
The most likely explanation is that swelling of the nose from the laser has made the filler temporarily disappear under the swelling.

Always see a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
Hope you found this answer helpful. Best wishes.
Elizabeth Morgan, MD, PhD

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Lasers and Dissolving Fillers

June 30th, 2015
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Your question is one that I get asked a lot.  Lasers do not dissolve fillers.  The lasers do not penetrate deeply enough to dissolve fillers which are injected into the dermis.  You can safely have your fillers done and lasers without any side effect of affecting your facial injections.  For the best cosmetic results please consult a board certified dermatologist with a great deal of experience with lasers and cosmetic injections.

Web reference: http://www.michelegreenmd.com/juvederm

Michele S. Green, MD
June 30th, 2015

Lasers and Dissolving Fillers

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Your question is one that I get asked a lot.  Lasers do not dissolve fillers.  The lasers do not penetrate deeply enough to dissolve fillers which are injected into the dermis.  You can safely have your fillers done and lasers without any side effect of affecting your facial injections.  For the best cosmetic results please consult a board certified dermatologist with a great deal of experience with lasers and cosmetic injections.

Learn more: http://www.michelegreenmd.com/juvederm

Michele S. Green, MD

CO2 and fillers

June 29th, 2015
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CO2 laser generally does not go more than a millimeter into the skin. Filler, on the other hand, is injected considerably deeper. The laser should not have a direct impact on the filler. The inflammation associated with CO2 could cause filler to migrate, but the effect should be minimal. I would give it time for the inflammation to resolve, and you may see that everything looks great.
Todd C. Becker, MD, PhD
June 29th, 2015

CO2 and fillers

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CO2 laser generally does not go more than a millimeter into the skin. Filler, on the other hand, is injected considerably deeper. The laser should not have a direct impact on the filler. The inflammation associated with CO2 could cause filler to migrate, but the effect should be minimal. I would give it time for the inflammation to resolve, and you may see that everything looks great.
Todd C. Becker, MD, PhD

Laser and Fillers

June 27th, 2015
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It is very unlikely that laser resurfacing, even a deep laser will remove enough filler to be noticeable. I have done this for 20 years initially with CO2 and for the last 10 years with Contour Erbium and I have never noticed. Laser only gets very slightly into the dermis were the filler sits.
Daniel Lanzer, MBBS

Daniel Lanzer, MBBS
Melbourne Dermatologic Surgeon
4.0 out of 5 stars 18 reviews

June 27th, 2015

Laser and Fillers

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It is very unlikely that laser resurfacing, even a deep laser will remove enough filler to be noticeable. I have done this for 20 years initially with CO2 and for the last 10 years with Contour Erbium and I have never noticed. Laser only gets very slightly into the dermis were the filler sits.

Daniel Lanzer, MBBS
Melbourne Dermatologic Surgeon

Laser can eliminate some of your filler

June 26th, 2015
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Since the fillers and laser treatments are in overlapping areas of the skin it is possible to have some of the filler removed via the laser.   It is best to do the dermabrasion or laser treatments first and then do the filler later.    My Best,  Dr C
George Commons, MD
June 26th, 2015

Laser can eliminate some of your filler

{{ voteCount >= 0 ? '+' + (voteCount + 1) : (voteCount + 1) }}
Since the fillers and laser treatments are in overlapping areas of the skin it is possible to have some of the filler removed via the laser.   It is best to do the dermabrasion or laser treatments first and then do the filler later.    My Best,  Dr C
George Commons, MD

Filler Dissolved after CO2

June 26th, 2015
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Hi Philippe.  Yes, this is definitely possible and we warn our patients about it.  If you get a deep resurfacing, (more than 200 microns) then you may be in the same level of the skin that dermal fillers are injected.  It really depends on how deep the filler was injected and how deep the resurfacing was performed, but it's certainly possible.  

The end result if this is the case is that you would need to redo the fillers. To see examples of injection treatments for nose shaping in Los Angeles, click on the link below.  

Web reference: http://www.celibre.com/ba-radiesse-injections-10.aspx

Harold J. Kaplan, MD

Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
4.4 out of 5 stars 7 reviews

June 26th, 2015

Filler Dissolved after CO2

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Hi Philippe.  Yes, this is definitely possible and we warn our patients about it.  If you get a deep resurfacing, (more than 200 microns) then you may be in the same level of the skin that dermal fillers are injected.  It really depends on how deep the filler was injected and how deep the resurfacing was performed, but it's certainly possible.  

The end result if this is the case is that you would need to redo the fillers. To see examples of injection treatments for nose shaping in Los Angeles, click on the link below.  

Learn more: http://www.celibre.com/ba-radiesse-injections-10.aspx

Harold J. Kaplan, MD

Harold J. Kaplan, MD
Los Angeles Facial Plastic Surgeon
4.4 out of 5 stars 7 reviews

CO2 and filler

June 26th, 2015
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Hi!  It's unlikely.  Most CO2 systems only penetrate to the deep epidermis and your filler is much deeper than this. 

There are a few CO2 lasers that do penetrate to the dermis (i.e. DeepFx), but their "fractional" beams are spaced out widely.  Even using the most aggressive settings (i.e. like we would with a burn patient), you're still only getting down into the deep dermis with laser columns spaced out far away from one-another.

I don't know what you had done, but it's very unlikely that your laser procedure dissolved your filler.  At worst, you may have poked a few holes in it - but even that is unlikely.


J. Matthew Knight, MD

J. Matthew Knight, MD
Orlando Dermatologic Surgeon

June 26th, 2015

CO2 and filler

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Hi!  It's unlikely.  Most CO2 systems only penetrate to the deep epidermis and your filler is much deeper than this. 

There are a few CO2 lasers that do penetrate to the dermis (i.e. DeepFx), but their "fractional" beams are spaced out widely.  Even using the most aggressive settings (i.e. like we would with a burn patient), you're still only getting down into the deep dermis with laser columns spaced out far away from one-another.

I don't know what you had done, but it's very unlikely that your laser procedure dissolved your filler.  At worst, you may have poked a few holes in it - but even that is unlikely.


J. Matthew Knight, MD
Orlando Dermatologic Surgeon

These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.