5 hours ago, Jack817 said:

Hi folks,

I'm planning to receive Fraxel Repair treatment next Month or so. Based on the conversation with my derm, he has told me that he will spot treat the icepick and boxcars by using fully ablative tip first, then switch to fractional tips to go over my cheeks. He did mention to me that I might see scar widening from the treatment, but he thinks a shallow wider scar is still better than a deep smaller scar.

Therefore, I was wondering for anyone who has CO2 before, do you have the similar experience?

Any treatment can possibly widen your scar. That is the way the scar remodeling supposed to work.During the scar remodeling phase, the scars will literally change shape. As the scar pit gets filled over time, the floor will get pushed up. This will further add tension and pressure to the scar edge, pushing it outward, and likely making the scar widen.

On 1/15/2021 at 5:49 PM, Jack817 said:

Hi folks,

I'm planning to receive Fraxel Repair treatment next Month or so. Based on the conversation with my derm, he has told me that he will spot treat the icepick and boxcars by using fully ablative tip first, then switch to fractional tips to go over my cheeks. He did mention to me that I might see scar widening from the treatment, but he thinks a shallow wider scar is still better than a deep smaller scar.

Therefore, I was wondering for anyone who has CO2 before, do you have the similar experience?

Did your scars get wider after CO2? How did you like the results from the treatment?

18 hours ago, versefifty said:

Did your scars get wider after CO2? How did you like the results from the treatment?

Some of the icepicks are wider, but in a good way. I think I got some improvement from the Co2 treatment and will receive another one.

8 hours ago, Jack817 said:

Some of the icepicks are wider, but in a good way. I think I got some improvement from the Co2 treatment and will receive another one.

That's good to hear. I was under the impression ice-picks are most difficult to treat with laser as they are usually deep and the laser can't reach the base. What would you say improved and what not so much? How's your texture now if I may ask? I am also considering getting co2 done and am looking to learn aboutpeople's experiences.

3 hours ago, versefifty said:

That's good to hear. I was under the impression ice-picks are most difficult to treat with laser as they are usually deep and the laser can't reach the base. What would you say improved and what not so much? How's your texture now if I may ask? I am also considering getting co2 done and am looking to learn aboutpeople's experiences.

Fractonal CO2 made some of my boxcar scars better but also gave me new scars. My doctor was aggressive so I saw benefits and side effects.

I've written many posts about this so just look at my profile.

1 hour ago, Amanda Hall said:

Fractonal CO2 made some of my boxcar scars better but also gave me new scars. My doctor was aggressive so I saw benefits and side effects.

I've written many posts about this so just look at my profile.

What type of scars did the laser give you? Atrophic scars? Persistent grid marks?

2 hours ago, Amanda Hall said:

Fractonal CO2 made some of my boxcar scars better but also gave me new scars. My doctor was aggressive so I saw benefits and side effects.

I've written many posts about this so just look at my profile. 

You're prolific Did you have any issues with the texture now or while you were still healing? Have you heard of orange peel skin after laser? Why does this occur?

7 hours ago, versefifty said:

That's good to hear. I was under the impression ice-picks are most difficult to treat with laser as they are usually deep and the laser can't reach the base. What would you say improved and what not so much? How's your texture now if I may ask? I am also considering getting co2 done and am looking to learn aboutpeople's experiences.

The border of my icepicks are a bit blurred than before, but are still visible. I'm NOT hoping the co2 will get rid of the icepicks, but am hoping it can help my boxcar and rolling scars. My texture was bad during the first month after the co2, but it got better than before later with the help of Tazorac.

BTW, if your derm just simply perform fractional co2 on your scar, it will be really slow to see the improvement. They should use the fully ablative mode to Sand-downthe scar edges to improve the scars further.

6 hours ago, LivingWithFaith said:

What type of scars did the laser give you? Atrophic scars? Persistent grid marks?

Some minor boxcar scars - atrophic. I don't have actual pictures but I hope this drawing will help you understand.

Let's say my original scar is on the left. The doctor lasers it as shown by the red rectangle. Afterwards, the scar becomes a little shallower but some of the areas around it don't fully heal. 

Has this happened with all of my scars? No. But it has happened during multiple treatments in different areas. Are these new scars due to the treatment or recovery? I'd lean towards treatment - but if you knock off your scabs or pick at them too early or something else during recovery, you could get scars that way. The new scars definitely aren't as visible as my original scars so the tradeoff was worth it to me - they may not be for others.

I talked to a patient recently who regret getting it done because his doctor caused new scars. Maybe the doctor was inexperienced or he's a poor healer. Or he didn't keep his skin moisturized 24/7 like you are supposed to. I don't know. Everything is a risk. For people with many scars, the benefits probably outweigh the risks. If you have shallow scars, I would rethink this procedure and go for a lighter treatment. You could also ask the doctor to do a test spot if you are apprehensive.

I don't think I got the orange peel effect but maybe what you are talking about is a more extreme version of what I drew. If people got scars and got pinpoint marks, I guess that would be considered orange peel-like.

Please read my previous posts: laser treatments are extremely varied. I would say more so than other treatments. The doctor needs to understand the settings and choose the laser (if he/she even has it) that is best for your skin type. I think many of you don't understand how important this is. I had two doctors use the same laser on me and one helped my scars and the other did something equivalent to a light peel that did nothing. This isn't like TCA where doctors across the US could all use 80% and it would have the same strength.