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Carbon dioxide laser treatment

Author: Anoma Ranaweera B.V. Sc; PhD (Clinical Biochemistry, University of Liverpool, UK), February 2016. 


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What is a laser?

A LASER (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) works by emitting a wavelength of high energy light, which when focused on a certain skin condition will create heat and destroy diseased cells.

Various kinds of lasers are available that are differentiated by the medium that produces the laser beam. The medium amplifies the light of a particular wavelength as it passes through it.

What is a carbon dioxide laser?­

The active laser medium is a mixture of 3 gases consisting of 10–20% carbon dioxide, 10–20% nitrogen, and the remainder is helium.

The carbon dioxide laser produces a specific wavelength of light in the infrared spectrum (10,600 nm).  

How does a carbon dioxide laser work?

Carbon dioxide laser beams penetrate the top skin layers reaching into the dermis. It creates tiny microscopic areas of thermal damage that stimulate new collagen production and replace damaged skin surface by new epidermal cells.

Traditional ablative carbon dioxide laser resurfacing has been largely replaced by fractional carbon dioxide lasers, which provide excellent results with fewer complications.

What is carbon dioxide laser used for?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a range of carbon dioxide laser machines to treat skin disorders. These include SmartSkin ablative skin laser (Cynosure, Massachusetts, USA), AcuPulse™ ablative carbon dioxide laser (Lumensis Inc. California, USA), UltraPulse® (Lumensis Inc. California, USA), FRAXEL® (Solta Medical, California, USA) and QuadraLASE™ (Candela, California, USA). Individual machines are designed to treat specific skin problems.

The following skin disorders can be treated with carbon dioxide laser beams.

Patient selection and contraindications

Contraindications

Carbon dioxide laser treatment may be unsuitable in the following circumstances:

Postoperative care

To reduce the risk of infection, patients may be prescribed:

Are there any side effects of carbon dioxide laser resurfacing?

Side effects from carbon dioxide laser treatment may include:

Mild side effects

Moderate side effects

Severe side effects

 Benefits of carbon dioxide laser treatment

For selected skin conditions, carbon dioxide laser treatment offers:

  • High-precision, tissue-selective treatment
  • Low cost of consumables
  • Less invasive than dermabrasion and chemical peeling
  • Short downtime – recovery time is about 2 weeks

Carbon dioxide versus erbium lasers

  • Erbium:YAG laser resurfacing is used to remove superficial and moderately deep lines and wrinkles on the face, hands, neck, or chest.
  • Erbium:YAG laser resurfacing has faster recovery time and fewer side effects than carbon dioxide laser but is less effective for the deeper line and wrinkles.

 

References

  • Newman JB, Lord JL, Ash K, McDaniel DH. Variable pulse erbium: YAG laser skin resurfacing of perioral rhytides and side-by-side comparison with carbon dioxide laser. Lasers Surg. Med. 2000; 26(2): 208–214(2000). PubMed.
  • Fitzpatrick RE, Goldman MP, Ruiz-Esparza J. Clinical advantage of the CO2 laser superpulsed mode.Treatment of verruca vulgaris seborrheic keratosis, lentigines and actinic cheilitis. J Dermatol Surg Oncol. 1994; 20:449–56. PubMed.
  • Weinstein C. Carbon dioxide Laser resurfacing: Long-term follow-up in 2123 patients. Clin Plast Surg. 1998; 25:109–30. PubMed.
  • Lauchli S, Kempf W, Dragieva G, Burg G, Hafner J. CO2 laser treatment of warts in immunosuppressed patients. Dermatology. 2003; 206:148–52. PubMed.
  • Shankar DSK, Chakravarthi M, Shilpakar R. Carbon Dioxide laser guide lines, J Cutan Aesthet Surg. 2009 Jul-Dec; 2(2): 72–80. PubMed.
  • Shamsaldeen O, Peterson JD, Goldman MP. The adverse events of deep fractional CO(2): a retrospective study of 490 treatments in 374 patients. Lasers Surg Med. 2011 Aug. 43(6):453–6. PubMed.

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