Wrinkles Be Gone: Laser Treatments?

Posting Date: 01/18/1999

Original Broadcast Date: December 10, 1998.

Kathy: I was thinking about having laser surgery for the wrinkles on my face. I'm 50 years old, and I want to know what you think about it.

Dr. Dean: Laser surgery is remarkable for helping aging, sagging, sallow skin. It can reduce sun-damage kinds of things - like wrinkles and brown spots - and acne, injury scars, and even some benign growths and pre-cancerous spots.

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Basically, these new laser treatments use pulses of 1/1,000 of a second, so it is now a much more precise process than it was in the old days. The sun-damaged outer layers of skin go away. Then the skin regenerates and looks pretty fresh and smooth. It is almost like turning back the clock.

Experts think the collagen tissue under the skin shrinks from the laser pulses, and that might be why it looks firmer.

There are different kinds of laser treatments for different kinds of problems. The wrinkles that seem to respond best are pretty shallow and sharply defined, like frown lines. There are also very successful treatments on skin that is leathery from too much sun.

Laser surgery doesn't give you the same result you'd get from a facelift. It doesn't prevent you from having a facelift down the line. The laser treatment costs about $1,000 to $5,000, depending on how much you have done. Most women are happy with it.

Most of us are really sensitive to even minor changes in our faces and hair, so, I'd say right now the best generation of lasers might objectively reduce certain wrinkles by 50 percent, and that you would see it as even better than that.

If you want laser treatment, well, why not? It seems to have a pretty good safety profile from the short studies done on it, and they are doing some longer ones now.

Any physician can learn the procedure, but I'd do it with someone who has experience with it, preferably someone board-certified in skin or cosmetic surgery. If there were any problems, you'd be better off with a physician who is already familiar with possible side effects.