Getting Rid of Acne

Laser acne scar removal evolved because of the improvements it offers in attacking the problem. Only a short time back, unsightly acne scars had limited treatment possibilities and results were often much less successful than they are today.

Cosmetic Surgery for Acne Scars

Cosmetic surgery for acne scars once consisted of a procedure called dermabrasion. This technique sounds painful and lives up to the expectation. The surgeon uses a diamond wheel or wire brush that rotates very quickly to remove the offending scars in the upper layers of skin. The areas bleed and new skin is regenerated to replace the scarred tissue.

Doctors use local anesthesia to lessen the pain during the procedure, but there is discomfort when the feeling comes back. Dermabrasion is not only painful, but it takes some time for new skin to grow back and the areas where the procedure is performed look worse than the scars during the healing process. Laser acne scar removal is much less offensive and usually doesn’t leave as much damage as dermabrasion does.

Grafting and Skin Peels

Other once popular procedures for acne scar removal were grafting and skin peels. Grafting involved using a small tool to remove plugs where scars were located and replacing with healthy skin taken from another area of the body. Again, this was painful and results were not always very gratifying.

A chemical peel is a risky procedure because it leaves a large area unprotected after the skin comes loose. Patients need to stay out of direct sunlight until the skin can renew itself. The blistering skin that comes from a chemical peel can be quite unsightly for a week or longer.

Negative Aspects of Grafting, Peels, and Dermabrasion

The big down side with these other procedures is that they overcompensate for the problem. It is very difficult to pinpoint the exact areas that need to be addressed without taking in other areas where the skin is in a healthy condition. The healing time for these procedures is also increased because of the expanse of skin that is disturbed.

Why Laser Surgery is a Preferred Alternative?

The main reason that laser acne scar removal has become the choice of most cosmetic surgeons is the control of what skin is removed and how deep the laser goes. Unlike the clumsy and outdated procedures of yesterday, there is much less discomfort to the patient and very few instances of bleeding associated with the laser surgery. Healing times are much shorter because such small areas are affected.

Although there are still some reddened areas after laser surgery and during the healing process, they are much less noticeable and usually not as bad as the actual scars themselves. Surgeons also use the laser for resurfacing to lessen wrinkles and improve other skin problems.

Types of Lasers Used For Laser Acne Scar Removal

There are two types of lasers used for removing acne scars. The erbium laser produces a precise wavelength. Upon contact with the skin, the moisture in the skin absorbs it and the heat scatters to surrounding healthy skin without harming it. Because the laser can focus so well on an area and be reduced to a very small beam size, there is relatively no discomfort for the patient and all unblemished skin remains intact.

The other type of laser is the carbon dioxide type, and it is the newer of the two. Unlike steady focused energy, the CO2 laser sends out short bursts of a highly intensive nature, which melt through skin a layer at a time. The CO2 is a very accurate laser, but it is not for everyone as patients must meet certain medical stipulations before they can undergo the procedure.

Laser acne scar removal is definitely a procedure to consider for cosmetic surgery. It is very seldom that complications occur using this particular method to remove acne scars.