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Is it safe to have Halo laser procedure 6 months after MOHS?

Six months ago I was diagnosed with skin cancer on my head and it was removed with MOHS surgery. I am not interested in having the halo laser procedure done on my face and wondered if it is safe to treat the 1 inch MOHS scar on my forehead? Also, does anybody know if lasers are safe after skin cancer in general?

Doctor Answers 5

October 3rd, 2016

Yes it is safe to undertake HALO after Mohs surgery.

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Yes it is, however for better scar remodelling, a CO2 Fractional later will give better results. Safety wise, good idea. Also good idea to treat sun damage, as skin cancers easier to pick up. HALO is a great superficial laser. All the best, Dr Davin Lim. Brisbane. Australia. 

Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdCv60iC8Rc

Davin Lim, MBBS, FACD
September 27th, 2016

Halo after MOHs

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Eternity, thanks for your question. My office and I use Halo and several other lasers to treat scars after surgery. Halo is a great treatment but maybe not necessarily for scar treatment. Halo is best for whole face. 

Stephen P. Beals, MD

Stephen P. Beals, MD
Paradise Valley Plastic Surgeon
5.0 out of 5 stars 9 reviews

September 25th, 2016

Halo after Mohs

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Halo is a fantastic laser treatment and is totally safe after mohs and skin cancer. Matter of fact, I highly recommend laser treatments for skin cancer prevention. There have been good studies that show that fractional laser resurfacing treatments decrease the risk of skin cancer. 

I hope this helps!

Dr. Quenby Erickson

Learn more: http://www.ericksondermatology.com

Quenby Erickson, DO, FAAD, FACMS
September 25th, 2016

Halo laser after surgery

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Dear eternity,

If you are going to use Halo on the scar and not to your entire face you are missing out on a great opportunity. The disposable tip is very expensive and to toss it after only treating an inch of your face makes no sense to me. If you are only interested in treating the scar I would recommend doing broad band light and Profractional instead. You can treat scars as early as a few weeks after a procedure, so there are no concerns at 6 months. All laser treatments can have complications such as pigment changes or infection, but they aren't necessarily higher because you had a previous surgery. Recommending Halo for just a scar may be because it's the only option they have. It will certainly improve it, but there are also other options that might be more effective from a cost standpoint and also results.

Stacey Folk, MD

Stacey Folk, MD
Denver Plastic Surgeon
4.8 out of 5 stars 25 reviews

March 13th, 2017

Halo after Mohs Surgery

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Thank you for your question.  Halo is a wonderful laser for brightening the skin and treating mild facial lines and wrinkles.  It certainly is safe to have a Halo treatment at this point - at 6 months, you skin is fully healed and should be able to tolerate the laser.  However, if you are only interested in treating your scar, I would recommend fractional CO2 laser over Halo - the energy from CO2 lasers penetrate the skin deeper than Halo and provide more collagen remodeling, so you will likely see more improvement than you would with Halo.  Best of luck!

Faiyaaz Kalimullah, MD, FAAD
Chicago 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.