156 replies to this topic

[tampagirl]

http://s245.photobucket.com/albums/gg80/tampagirl_photos/

Guys - Here are larger pics on photobucket.- tampagirl

[bucksfan]

I had profractional last Weds, which appears to be a similar procedure. CO2 Microlaser peel at 10-20 microns, followed by deeper, more concentrated pro-fractional on scarred areas, at higher micron depth.

I had numbing cream, oral sedation, and local injections on my face (not really a big deal...sounds worse than it is). Did you guys go with nothing?

Only thing that hurt was along the hairline, and close to the eyes after he took the 'eye shades' off to get close. Not sure if there was no numbing cream there, or that's just a really sensitive area, or a little of both.

Will post more in the Sciton Profractional thread I started last week.

[Retardiest]

retardiest - you are too funny. it DID hurt like hell, didnt it? tears rolled down my eyes involuntarily. Im about 6 weeks out and not exfoliating anymore so I am hopeful the improvement will continue.
Yeah, the first few days are SCARY looking, but they don't hurt. Let us know how you are doing. I will try to enlarge the pics and reupload them or load them somewhere else.
- tampagirl

Damn right it did, I thought it was somewhat comparable to getting a tatoo all over my face. And yeah I couldn't open my eyes for few minutes because they were watering so much.

But a lot of the freddy krueger looking skin has peeled off and while I can't see everything yet, so far what is visible is showing very nice improvement and its only been about 5 or 6 days since. I guess my downtime is like a day or two longer than normal since they used the deepest power setting they could.

Anyways... by the looks of things im feeling very confident that I am and will continue to have the results fraxel couldn't give me which is good cuz im pretty tired of spending $ on lasers.

[Retardiest]

Speaking of... if I ever want this laser done again my doctor has offered me half price on it for life for being a return customer, because he thinks I'll be happy enough with the results from this first one that I wont need to return.

[tampagirl]

Show pics when you can. I am interested in getting pigment tattoo for a facial scar. Anyone know much about this procedure. Cost, etc. ?

Retardiest - Curious -- what did YOU pay for co2 fraxel and what city?



Bucksfan- I had numbing cream, tylenol, and one tiny valium (or the like) but it was like having nothing at all. I am glad you had a better experience.

[Retardiest]

Bucksfan- I too had numbing cream and 3 tylenol...like having nothing at all.

tampagirl- When I was doing fraxel I paid $2500 all in all through many sessions for barely noticeable results. And for the Total FX fractional co2 I paid $1750 one time (doctor gave me $500 discount from $2250) and if I ever want it again only $1100. This is out of Denver Colorado.

[sw cub]

Show pics when you can. I am interested in getting pigment tattoo for a facial scar. Anyone know much about this procedure. Cost, etc. ?

Retardiest - Curious -- what did YOU pay for co2 fraxel and what city?



Bucksfan- I had numbing cream, tylenol, and one tiny valium (or the like) but it was like having nothing at all. I am glad you had a better experience.

Tampagirl- There is someone in Tampa that does pigment tattoo for scars and it seems like she knows her stuff. Her name is Lauren Mhyre. Look up Cleopatra's ink and you will find her contact info.

[nkka]

Reliant has released its Fraxel Re:Pair CO2 system and there are currently two in Florida, one in Clearwater, and one in Ft Lauderdale. It may be the best laser treatment for acne scars for the following reasons. Lasers for acne scars only produce significant results in a single treatment if they are CO2(ablative). Also, if the CO2 is fractionated it is safer and has a much shorter recovery time. There are currently only two CO2 lasers on the market that have fractionated CO2 delivery systems, Lumenis deepFX and the Reliant Re:Pair. The smaller the diameter and the deeper penetrating the fractional laser spots are the better the result. Of the two, the Fraxel Re:Pair system's fractionated CO2 laser has the smallest spot sizes and the deepest penetration and therefore will produce the best results. Several people I know have had the Fraxel Re:Pair CO2 treatment, reporting great results and little to no pain. Austen

[tampagirl]

sw cub - thanks for the info about tattoo.

By the way, I followed my laser procedure with radiesse a few days ago. I am not too happy with it, though. Dr. said he could touch up and fill in any remaining depressions, including a rather large trauma indention on right cheek. That did NOT happen. The nurse did the injections and went really deep, which means the surface type indentions will just all be raised up.

The point is - I don't trust Dr.'s too much. I think they tell you what you want to hear. Not only misleading, but she injected 2 full syringes on one side of my cheek. I was panicky because I looked like a chipmunk with a large nut in my cheek. Sounds funny, but I really was paniky.I even bought an extra syringe to balance out the effect on the other side. It has been 2 1/2 days and there is still quite a lot of swelling (much more than I was warned about - which was zero by the way). I still look dysmorphic(sp?) and am seeing dr. in the morning. This cost me $2300 and I am not too happy right now. Will let you all know what Dr. says tomorrow.

I am not EVEN going to post pictures. I just hope there is still more swelling to subside. -

I am tired of working on my poor pitiful face. After this, I give up. - tampagirl

[koolfool]

tampagirl - Oh no, such an improvement!!! Congrats girl. Can you pay a visit to my topic. I would highly appreciate your comments. I'm Asian so I don't think I could experience this treatment...

[katiekat]

Tampagirl,

I think it looks like you had good improvements. What is the % of improvement that you had in your opinion? I was thinking about getting the maxfx done. I believe it is the same, or similar to it. Am I correct?

[tampagirl]

katiekat- i would say I had about 50% improvement, maybe more. i think the pictures are a little deceiving because the originals were taken outside in raw sunlight while tha after pictures were taken inside in more flattering lighting. With that said, I WOULD do it again.

I am not familar with MAXFX but when I googled it, I got hits on some erectile dysfunction sites. haha. Maybe you have the name wrong? - tampagirl

[katiekat]

katiekat- i would say I had about 50% improvement, maybe more. i think the pictures are a little deceiving because the originals were taken outside in raw sunlight while tha after pictures were taken inside in more flattering lighting. With that said, I WOULD do it again.

I am not familar with MAXFX but when I googled it, I got hits on some erectile dysfunction sites. haha. Maybe you have the name wrong? - tampagirl

It is the same as you had. There's active fx and MaxFX. The max is deeper, probaly comparable to the full co2. How long did it take for you to recover?

[katiekat]

katiekat- i would say I had about 50% improvement, maybe more. i think the pictures are a little deceiving because the originals were taken outside in raw sunlight while tha after pictures were taken inside in more flattering lighting. With that said, I WOULD do it again.

I am not familar with MAXFX but when I googled it, I got hits on some erectile dysfunction sites. haha. Maybe you have the name wrong? - tampagirl

It is the same as you had. There's active fx and MaxFX. The max is deeper, probaly comparable to the full co2. How long did it take for you to recover?

Called for an appointment. They said their max fx is the co2. Now i'm confused. Was yours considered the co2, or was it actually the fractional?

[rpunkboy]

I think the maxfx is the old co2, where your entire layer of skin is burned off.

[tampagirl]

katiekat - I had what is termed fractionalized CO2. It is a cross between fraxel and the old CO2. I strongly considered the old ablative CO2 (recommended by 2 different dr.) but I was chicken in the end. Years ago, I had a serious chemical peel. I was hesitant to go through that again and I read that ablative techniques can make scars worse.

SO - you need to check and see if MAXfx is "traditional ablative CO2". Get the actual company name that makes the laser and do your homework before you make a decision. - tampagirl

[jjp007]

katiekat- i would say I had about 50% improvement, maybe more. i think the pictures are a little deceiving because the originals were taken outside in raw sunlight while tha after pictures were taken inside in more flattering lighting. With that said, I WOULD do it again.

I am not familar with MAXFX but when I googled it, I got hits on some erectile dysfunction sites. haha. Maybe you have the name wrong? - tampagirl

Wow 50% is great!! I would be happy with that......I might have to look into this instead of doing just the Fraxel 2 again.

[healthynclear]

Hi everyone. This forum has been a wonderful source of information for me and I wanted to pay it back by relaying my laser resurfacing experience.

I just had the newest laser treatment that is a cross between Fraxel and traditional CO2.
Background: In addition to cystic acne scars, I have terrible scars from 3 seperate facial traumas and uneven skin tone. I was desperate for improvement and consulted with many plastic surgeons and a few dermatologists.

Treatment so far: 1.Face lift (recommended by 2 diff drs) to tighten skin - done 9 mo ago. Great looking but not sure it did much for scars.
2. Continued use of Tanzorak (Retin A) and hydroquinine 10% (also great but must use every single day)
Drs. recommended REAL dermabrasion (too scary for me) and CO2 (big downtime, higher risks) and Fraxel (5 treatments for $5k - you've got to be kidding - less than impressive before and afters) and this new laser - Fractionalized CO2 (my choice)
I had some sculptra injections in one very depressed area and was not impressed.

I plan to finish out with other dermal fillers in a few months - still deciding on which one.

Anyway - thought I would share my experience so far. Lumenis makes this laser. See http://www.aesthetic.lumenis.com/wt/page/ultrapulse for info and video.

TIME - It took about 45 minutes but I had to get there an hour early to get topical anesthetic and a ativan (which i insisted on). This is a one time laser treatment. I was unconvinced about the 4-8 fraxel treatments that I would have needed.

PAIN - I won't lie to you - it hurt like hell. They did 2 passes. The first pass was "DEEP FX" on the scars. It stung like being slapped in the face but was tolerable. I could actually smell burning skin - not awful, just weird smell.
The second pass was "ACTIVE FX" all over - which treated skin discoloration and wrinkles (I didn't have any after face lift)It is not as deep as DEEP FX and should not have hurt much but, evidently, the first pass made my skin VERY sensitive so the second pass felt like red hot needles being poked deeply into my face. They would do 4 pulses in a row then stop to let me breathe. No kidding. The morale of the story is don't do this without some kind of heavier sedative and a ride home (halcion?)- if you have a 2 pass treatment. However, the nurse told me that another patient had 2 pass treatment and didn't have the pain that I seemed to have. I never really thought I was a pain wimp, but perhaps I am. I had halcion for major tooth surgery and it was GREAT - don't remember a thing.

DOWNTIME - I was hidden from the public for about 4 or 5 days. On the 4th or 5th day I went to gro. store for a short time. Can't stay out too long because face continued to peel and makeup would peel right off with it.

Right after the procedure my face was beet red with tiny red dots all over. The red dots are where the laser actualy penetrated skin. I had to wear gooey gel to keep it moist for the first 4 days. Unpleasant to sleep in, but worth it. Each day I would wash my face and dead skin would slough off - not like a peeling sunburn though. Each day the redness would lessen, as would the sloughing until about the 4th or 5th day. Amazing how this didn't hurt.
However, 12 days later my skin still sloughs off - which is a good thing. Doesn't look bad with makeup, though.
--- note -- I had a deep chemical peel about 10 years ago and it DID hurt post-procedure and my face peeled off like a bad sunburn for about a week. I don't think it did that great of a job improving much of anything.

RESULTS: I will upload pictures later. I am very happy with the results so far. The Dr. says I can expect to see continued improvement (healing) for up to a year as collagen is built down deep. Specifically, depressed scars are MUCH softer already and continue to look better each day. One surprise was the reduction in pore size, which I didn't really expect. My pores look like they did at 20. I am 47 now. Skin discoloration improvement is not as great as I thought it would be, but I hope it will also improve over time. I had white spots interspursed with brown sun damage discoloration. Skin bleach was my only hope there.

COST: Here in Tampa, expect to pay at least 2500. I don't think this is bad because fraxel is about $500 each time, not including the pain-in-the-butt-factor.

OVERALL PERCEPTION:
Fast (45 min), one time - as opposed to fraxel 4+ visits
No risk of worse scarring (chem peel or co2 can scar)
High procedure pain factor (co2 is no pain because you are out)
Fair cost (CO2 would be 5k - anesthesia required -deep chem peel too)
Low post proceure pain (chem peel DID hurt afterwards)
Expect 4-6 days downtime (co2 or chem peel realistically at LEAST 10 days fraxel no downtime)

Actual improvement - I will know in about 4 months. So far I am really happy. I am glad to answer questions but admit I don't log on every single day ...
- tampagirl

hi! thanks so much for posting your experience! I was going to have Fraxel done but my esthitician said that she thought it was ridiculous to pay that kind of money for so many treatments and not to get great results. She said she's been doing lots of research and they are bringing in the CO2 fractional laser. She told me that was the best thing for my scars which are shallow but all over my cheeks. I had no idea what to expect with this laser but thanks to you I have somewhat of an idea. Quick question...was the peeling really bad...meaning was there a super obvious color difference in what skin had peeled and what skin hadn't? Also, I'm the pianist for our church and I'm also in a performance about 5 or 6 days after I have the laser done. What do you think my skin will look like? Will it be obvious that I had something done? Is the color difference between face and neck pretty obvious? Also, did you have any problems with break-outs? Sorry to bombard you with a million questions. This is pretty new to me and I'm having the procedure done next Tuesday so I'm kind of nervous! How long did it take till you felt like skin was completely back to normal?

Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it!

[monty]

This is a pretty cool video of a girl getting fractional co2 laser. I had Fraxel done and I'm assuming my skin turns waxy and pixellated but not as obvious as the co2 fraxel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT3Rl6PYhEQ

[Joshu]

This is a pretty cool video of a girl getting fractional co2 laser. I had Fraxel done and I'm assuming my skin turns waxy and pixellated but not as obvious as the co2 fraxel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT3Rl6PYhEQ

arguably cool.

Definately looks like a more intense treatment than a normal fraxel by far.

Kind of interested in see post op photos from that girl.