The fractional laser allows skin rejuvenation that until very few years ago was absolutely unthinkable. And specifically, the CO2 laser being an ablative laser, that is, removing a very thin layer of skin, is also excellent for skin spots, as well as for rejuvenation.
Technology is advancing every day. Particularly in the field of lasers, we have had in recent years, an absolutely exponential evolution.
Today we have machines that adjust before we start, where we can decide a priori how much to lesion, with what depth and with what distance between lesions.
From a complete exfoliation of the superficial skin layer that was had with the old CO2 laser, we have moved to a controlled exfoliation in which the laser beam is fractionated only on small points of the skin, which can be spaced as needed: this is precisely the technology of the Fractional CO2 Laser with the association of radiofrequency.
It is based on the principle that injuring only a smaller part of the skin, 5 to 40%, allows very fast healing and abolishes almost all the risks associated with the old CO2 laser, which gave very good results but sometimes unsightly scarring outcomes.
This reduces the thermal effect tremendously, and thus the effects due to tissue burn, resulting in possible scarring, are plummeted to zero.
Follow-up, too, has been reduced but more importantly, it has become very uniform, so we can give an almost completely safe timeline: in 5-7 days, the scabs have come off and the patient resumes a normal relationship life.
In addition, collagen production is stimulated enormously, just as happens when we injure ourselves: in just a few days, all those wonderful mechanisms that allow complete healing are activated.
With fractional CO2 laser then, unlike with other types of lasers, it is possible to modulate the shape of the pulse according to the tissue being treated. This allows for maximum treatment effectiveness and a substantial reduction in pain for the patient.
Also, I personally used to use it in conjunction with the radiofrequency done by the machine itself, immediately after finishing the fractional laser. This allows the burning to be minimized, and healing that really happens in very few days.
The most indicated areas are:
- eyelid and periocular area
- perioral area
- full face area (full face)
- neck
- décolleté
- hands
- skin spots