Is there any chance of getting skin cancer with laser skin resurfacing?

No, there is no risk of developing skin cancer through laser skin resurfacing treatments. If anything, laser skin resurfacing can help remove pre-cancerous lesions.

Laser skin resurfacing peels layers of your skin to produce new skin.  This theoretically should reduce the chances of getting skin cancers as you are removing pre-cancerous type lesions. This obviously depends on how deep the laser penetrates and what kind of laser is being used.Remember, often times patients that need skin resurfacing already have sun damage from years of sun exposure.  This group of people already has an increased risk of skin cancer for that reason. 

There is no risk of a modern laser causing skin cancer. In fact, certain lasers are approved to eliminate pre-cancerous damage and lower the risk of new cancers forming. If you're interested in having laser resurfacing to remove sun damage or wrinkles it is important to have your skin evaluated by a plastic surgeon or dermatologist to ensure that there aren't any established skin cancers that could be hidden by the laser treatment. I hope this information is helpful.Stephen Weber MD, FACSDenver Facial Plastic Surgeon