How does it work?

Carbon dioxide lasers have been in use for many years to treat different benign and malignant skin conditions. A new generation of carbon dioxide lasers use very short pulsed light energy (ultrapulsed) or continuous light beams that are delivered in a scanning pattern to very precisely remove thin layers of skin with minimal heat damage to the surrounding structures. These lasers have been successfully used to treat benign skin growths such as warts, etc

What can be expected during and after the procedure?

In general, carbon dioxide laser treatment is performed on an outpatient basis, using local anesthesia. The areas to be treated are numbed with a local anesthetic. It takes 30 to 45 minutes.

Patients with darker skin tones have a greater risk of healing with darker pigmentation (hyperpigmentation). This may be minimized by preoperative use of a bleaching agent as well as continued use of this agent after healing.