Red Marks Under Eyes After CO2 Laser and Healing, Is This Normal? (photo)

Question

I had one light pass of CO2 laser under my eyes during my blepharoplasty procedure on July 2nd.I am now in a different country to my PS otherwise I'd go and see him. I still have very red rings under my eyes after most of the other surgical scars are healing well. My PS gave me hydraquinone cream to apply nightly and I have done for 2 weeks but there does not seem to be much difference. Is this normal? How long do I continue with the hydroquinone and how long until this redness is likely to fade?

Vincent N. Zubowicz, MD · Answer

The redness in the skin is a natural byproduct of a CO2 laser. It should gradually improve with time. Skin emollients and avoidance of UV radiation is imperative.

Kenneth D. Steinsapir, MD · Answer

Your lower eyelids do look very red. This suggests that your lower eyelid skin may have been injured too deeply. These red area can coalesce into subepithial scars. This can be managed with 5 FU injection. I recommend you seek out a laser resurfacing specialist in your area to assess how you are doing and determine if you might benefit from active management.

Aaron Stone, MD · Answer

This is the problem with medical tourism. You need after care treatment but your are in a different country. The hydorquinone will not fix the problem. Other creams might but you need to be seen an treated by a physician. This is not something you should do on your own at home. Unfortunately, I think most physicians will be reluctant to take on another surgeon's problems.
	
	The best thing for you to do is send your photo and posted question to your surgeon. They may have a colleague closer to your home base that may be able to help you.
	
	I hope you realize that this format of posting questions and receiving answers lacks the face to face direct communication required for you to make an informed decision regarding your surgery.
	
	My response to your question/post does not represent formal medical advice or constitute a doctor patient relationship. You need to consult with i.e. personally see a board certified plastic surgeon in order to receive a formal evaluation and develop a doctor patient relationship in order to know if this assessment is valid.

Curtis Wong, MD · Answer

As you can see, there are many ways to address this. But the bottom line is the redness should eventually resolve with time. You could cycle through temporary hyperpigmentation or other issues but the redness will resolve. In addition to topical steroids, topical Vitamin C could also help. If you can cover it with camouflage cosmetics, just give it time and protect lids from excessive sun exposures.

Darryl J. Blinski, MD · Answer

This redness depicted in your posted photo is an erythema of a "burning" event whether a CO2 laser or deep chemical peeling. This ids the very very early stages of hyper pigmentation. Best to use the quinone creams for months and even a steroid cream may be of benefit. Very aggress 5Fu therapy is not indicated at this time. Best to obtain better understanding of the effect of a deep BURN from your surgeon even if out of country. This could take 6 months to resolve.

Jeffrey Zwiren, MD · Answer

Redness is an indication of the depth of the laser treatment. Not all CO2 lasers are same so it would be beneficial to understand what type of laser was used and what were the settings used. I would recommend some type of steroid cream if the underlying skin is soft. It would be good for you to be evaluated by a plastic surgeon or dermatologist who performs laser resurfacing to be sure you are healing as expected. HQ will be of no benefit an may be causing some of the redness at this point.

Red Marks Under Eyes After CO2 Laser and Healing, Is This Normal? (photo)

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