Introduction - laser Introduction - carbon dioxide laser How it works Uses Patient selection and contraindications Side effects Benefits Carbon dioxide versus erbium lasers
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.
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).
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.
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.
Carbon dioxide laser treatment may be unsuitable in the following circumstances:
To reduce the risk of infection, patients may be prescribed:
Side effects from carbon dioxide laser treatment may include:
For selected skin conditions, carbon dioxide laser treatment offers:
