Sorry if you covered this somewhere but I'm new to all this and wanted to know if what you did is the same thing as fractional laser resurfacing? In particular the Lux1540 of the Gold Standard Palomar Starlux 500? I've been advised to undergo this and a minimum of 3 sessions spread out 3 weeks apart to see results. Does this sound about right? I have indentation issues on the sides of my cheek - not too many though but enough to be apparent and to bother me!

Good luck with your fifth re:pair DudleyDoRight. Your account has been inspirational.

I'm going for my second TotalFX this autumn, as I've seen improvement after the first. I hope to get results as good as yours in the long run.

@hope2011: The Fraxel re:pair, like the Lumenis UltraPulse (which is the laser employed in the ActiveFX, DeepFX and TotalFX treatments), is a fractional ablative laser. The Palomar Lux1540 is fractional too, but it's non-ablative, like the Fraxel re:store.

It appears that non-ablative lasers are not particularly effective at treating scars. Ablative lasers, on the other hand, have, in some cases, shown to be moderately effective.

Oh wow - All this is so confusing. Thank you for clarifying though. I'm super scared to go for a non-ablative treatment so ablative just seems out of the question for me at this time. The laser technician warned me about how the side effects of ALL lasers include blistering, burning, scarring, hyperpigmentation sometimes even permanent. Scared me a little, but it's good to know!

I'm still trying to figure out the difference between fractional/fraxel laser resurfacing and dermarolling? Can anyone help?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack your thread but you guys seem very knowledgable.

I don't know much about dermarolling (or anything else for that matter), but I think the principle is pretty much the same.

From what I understand, though, fractional lasers, especially CO₂, have an added effect: they cause thermal damage to the tissues surrounding the ablation column. That may or may not produce further tightening and/or collagen synthesis.

Hopefully someone has more to say on this topic.

@easymoney: Sorry, I missed your query. The Fraxel CO₂ laser is the re:pair.

thanks chicken man

Re:pair is extremely risky and dangerous with the long term side effects completely unknown. We are the first batch to get repair done and yes, there have been laser treatments around for a little while but doing something like this where you get a repair treatment every year for several years is just way too risky in my opinion.

Hopefully this isnt the case but who is to say that a significant proportion of fraxel patients won't be cancer sufferers in 30 years time? Scrap that, in 20 years time? These lasers are literally burning away at your face to level down the surrounding skin to the scars and then, the intention is to encourage collagen production. I myself have had 6 or 7 fraxel restore treatments in the period of one year and that even completely disturbed the health of my skin. It's almost been a year since my last treatment and I still have to apply tons of suncream to my face every single freakin day and if it's sunny, my fraxeled skin will get red and then suffer hyperpigmentation. F*ck the doctors and websites that say 2-3 days down time and then apply suncream for a few months after and you'll be able to hit the beach after that. IT'S ALL BULLSH*T.

I've talked to many laser patients and they all say the same. My docs insisted that my skin type was very safe bla bla bla and this is RE:STORE, imagine the very possible side effects of re:pair.

Yeah I have several severe scars on each side of my cheek but what I'm left now is dark brown patches all over my cheeks and scars probably 10% improved.

Hi Dudley, was your dermarolling experience done by a doctor? I have my fraxel repair booked now. All the lasers are done by the doctors themselves. The clinic I am going to has a black diamond award. They are rather prolific with the fraxel repair and I was told that they have experience so like to combine different treatments. My doctors is going to do medical grade dermarolling and fraxel repair on the same day! I'm glad they are confident to 'play jazz' with my face. The acne scarring severity is I think mild to moderate. The acne scarring on my cheeks does not show up in photos and only certain lights. The temples are worse: I can see them if I am sitting in the drivers seat if looking at the rear view mirror but not if I'm sitting in the back seat. What do you think about combining these two treatments?

QUOTE (DudleyDoRight @ Aug 7 2011, 12:13 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I believe the minimum waiting time between Re:pairs is 4 to 6 months depending on how fast you heal.

This I can imagine. Some time ago while I was still researching the different scar treatments I had a consultation with a plastic surgeon in my area, one of the few in Germany who offer the Re:pair. Having already read your threads what he suggested shocked me totally-3 consecutive treatments(starting from 50mj) with an intervall of 3-4 weeks inbetween!!! What would you say about that?? After confirming for the second time that it was the Re:pair, not the Re:store that we were talking about he said that this is done on purpose at such a short intervall so that the effect is cumulative. Needless to say I was too scared to go for one treatment with the Re:pair, let alone 3 and opted in the end for other treatments.

I don't know that there is a precedent for what that doctor is suggesting. It would take someone much more knowledgeable than I to properly respond to that course of treatment. I have found the normal Re:pair schedule to be cumulative, but it occurs over a much longer time frame.

I believe the doctor wasn't fully aware how powerful the Repair laser is to be used at such a short time interval. Thank God I had done my homework and didn't go for it!

It was a plastic surgeon at a private clinic who in my opinion didn't have much experience in treating acne scars, but had purchased the laser for anti-aging treatments. I didn't feel like he wanted to really help me.

Hi Dudley, was your dermarolling experience done by a doctor? I have my fraxel repair booked now. All the lasers are done by the doctors themselves. The clinic I am going to has a black diamond award. They are rather prolific with the fraxel repair and I was told that they have experience so like to combine different treatments. My doctors is going to do medical grade dermarolling and fraxel repair on the same day! I'm glad they are confident to 'play jazz' with my face. The acne scarring severity is I think mild to moderate. The acne scarring on my cheeks does not show up in photos and only certain lights. The temples are worse: I can see them if I am sitting in the drivers seat if looking at the rear view mirror but not if I'm sitting in the back seat. What do you think about combining these two treatments?

I did dermarolling at home for about 6 months with no results. I don't know about the dual treatment your doctor is prescribing. Dermarolling seems like a very weak alternative to Re:pair.

Hi Dudley, was your dermarolling experience done by a doctor? I have my fraxel repair booked now. All the lasers are done by the doctors themselves. The clinic I am going to has a black diamond award. They are rather prolific with the fraxel repair and I was told that they have experience so like to combine different treatments. My doctors is going to do medical grade dermarolling and fraxel repair on the same day! I'm glad they are confident to 'play jazz' with my face. The acne scarring severity is I think mild to moderate. The acne scarring on my cheeks does not show up in photos and only certain lights. The temples are worse: I can see them if I am sitting in the drivers seat if looking at the rear view mirror but not if I'm sitting in the back seat. What do you think about combining these two treatments?

I did dermarolling at home for about 6 months with no results. I don't know about the dual treatment your doctor is prescribing. Dermarolling seems like a very weak alternative to Re:pair.

Yes, I am sceptical about the dermarolling and I asked my doc about it and he said 'there is 'dermarolling' and there is 'dermarolling'.

Regarding time between Fraxel repairs: my doctor has said that I can get repairs done in three month intervals. I know it it is most defiantly the Repair to confirm. I think this depends on ones age and also the intensity of the treatment. I do trust the higher the intensity of the treatment the better the results.

I guess 3 months is possible.