Is it too soon for the Tretinoin cream? 7 wks after facelift and CO2 resurfacing.

Only your doctor knows what type of CO2 laser they used and how many passes were done. Therefore they are the ones who are best to tell you when it may be appropriate to start. You are correct though, to maintain your results, tretinoin is a great treatment.

Your question is a great one.  Unfortunately you  didn't provide any photos to assist in the answer.  Everyone's skin heals at a different rate and so not knowing where your are in the healing process makes it difficult to answer you question adequately.In general,  I don't recommend Reint-A until you are completely healed - which means no residual erythema (redness) of the skin where the laser was used.  You need to realize you just went through the most aggressive exfoliation possible with laser resurfacing, and so there is no rush to re-start gently exfoliation with Retin-A.  If you skin is still healing from the laser procedure, Retin-A applied prematurely is will delay or worsen your erythema and healing time.Hope this helps!.

CO2 laser is a second degree controled burn.  When properly performed for etched wrinkles it should scare animals and small children for ten days.  At exactly two weeks, our patients are able to put on makeup and go to work.  if they heal faster than that, they will likely not get an optimal result. they  may remain pink for weeks or months.  This is capillary blood supply to the healing process. The longer they are pink, the tighter they seem to get.  When the wound is fully healed, the capillaries reabsorb and pinkness dissapears.  At this time, they can use Retin A.  However this may cause pinkness to return.  If  very sensitive we use full strength about every fourth day and progress to every day as tolerated.We had the first Coherent Ultra-pulse laser in our area, and performed 350 full face cases under twighlight sleep.(this procedure is too painfull to do under local when properly done.) After mastering the learning curve, we produced a video to teach physicians our technique.  However, after a few years we were dissapointed with the long term results.  The two week healing period was exactly the same as the Phenol Peel.  But the Phenol was far superior in removing deep wrinkles and lasted thrice as long or more in most patients.   We no longer use laser for deep etched wrinkles.  Phenol is far superior.  At the Boston Meeting of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, a show of hands revealed only one third of the plastic surgeons present knew how to do phenol peels.  It is becoming a lost art, but there is nothing on the planet as effective. We use erbium for brown spots and fine lower lid wrinkles.

Obviously, it is the laser resurfacing which may limit use of tretinoin during the recovery. Although your skin is not completely healed after 7 weeks, it is reasonable to start tretinoin cream or gel. You may find that your skin reacts with more irritation. If this is the case, decrease frequency of application, decrease concentration of tretinoin or stop entirely and wait a few weeks longer. Your surgeon and his medical team will guide you depending on your specific skin characteristics.

You are probably well healed at 7 weeks post op and this is likely an okay time to resume your skincare.  I still recommend you contact your surgeon to be sure as he or she has likely has specific post op instructions for you to obtain your best results.

Thank you for your question.
Every plastic surgery office has their own set of pre and post operative instructions that they recommend their patients follow. It is most important to follow the instructions of your surgeon.

My best recommendation is to contact your surgeon for his/her post-operative instructions.  It is important to follow all instructions after surgery as closely as possible to optimize the results.  There is some variation amongst surgeons on this issue. I recommend that my patients wait at least 6 weeks after surgery to restart tretinoin cream.  Tretinoin is an exfoliant and stimulator so the skin has to be completely healed before re-starting the cream.  To be sure that your skin is ready, you may want to follow up with the esthetician/surgeon in person who started you on the Obagi skin care before starting.  

Dear Mollie,
Many thanks for your question. In general, if you are fully healed then there is no reason that you cannot commence the Tretinoin, albeit building up its use slowly initially so a stop develop a tolerance.
You should consult with your Plastic surgeon for their advice as only they know the extent of what was done in your recent combined lift and surface ablation.
Always remember sun protection.
Wishing you well.
Marcus

The CO2 laser is in ablative of laser that takes off the top layer of skin. This top layer contains the wrinkles that are being improved with the laser treatment. It takes weeks of secondary healing to  have the skin healed again.
 Retin-A is a chemical treatment applied to the skin that irritates the top layer of skin improving the wrinkles during the healing response
 Set a CO2 laser is one of the more aggressive treatments for skin resurfacing I advise my patients to wait at least six months before resuming Retin-A therapy. 


 If a very light  treatment with CO2 laser is used three months could be possible  to resume Retin-A 

Hello Mollie36388,When it comes to tretinoin that usually can be restarted very soon after a facelift.  The limiting factor is how the skin looks after resurfacing.  Even with very deep CO2 treatments by 7 weeks most patients would be back on their tretinoin.  However, this is a question that really only your surgeon can answer as he/she knows what your skin looks like right now and how it has healed after resurfacing.I hope this helps and good luck.