What to Expect After Treatment

Fraxel® Laser Treatment produces side-effects. The intensity and duration of your side effects depends on how aggressive your treatment is and your individual healing characteristics. Generally, patients who are treated more aggressively experience more intense side-effects that lost longer. However, some patients have greater than “expected” reactions to less aggressive treatments and others have fewer side-effects to aggressive treatments than would ordinarily be expected. Notify your physician if the severity of your side-effect becomes a problem for you.

• Swelling. You will notice most of the swelling on the first morning after treatment, particularly under the eyes. Swelling usually lasts two to three days. To minimize swelling do the following:
• Apply cold compresses to the treatment area for 10 minutes of every hour on the day of treatment, until you go to bed.
• Sleep elevated the first night. Use as many pillows as you can tolerate.
• Redness. Most redness resolves during the first week after treatment, but a rosy “glow” can remain for several weeks. If you wish, you can apply makeup immediately after treatment to minimize the redness.
• Dry Skin. Your skin may feel dry, peel or flake. You may notice a “sandpaper” texture a few days after treatment. This is the treated tissue working its way out of your body as new, fresh skin is regenerated. Apply your TNS Ceramide Cream frequently throughout the day.
• Bronzing, Crusting and Small Dark Dots.  Fraxel Laser Treatment causes destruction to microscopic cylinders of skin which then exfoliate during the healing process. In individuals with heavily pigmented skin, or in areas where sun damage has produced pigmented lesions, these microscopic wounds, known as MENDs, contain large amounts of melanin. Because there are so many MENDs, they can make the skin look bronzed., or small areas may appear crusted. (PLEASE do not try to scratch them off). When high energies are used to produce deep and wide lesions, the MENDs can sometimes be seen as individual dark dots. On the face, the MENDs will shed within 7-10 days. Off the face, it may take as long as 3 weeks for the MENDs to shed.
• Raw Skin. If you develop areas of raw skin post treatment, keep them moist with something like Aquaphor®, Ceratopic and TNS. You do not need to apply band-aids, but keep the areas moist and do not pick at them. They will heal very rapidly on their own.
• Acne. Any acne lesions below the skin may surface after your fraxel treatment. In most cases these will be transient. If they are of concern, please contact us.
  

Our practice is committed to providing the highest quality care for our patients. We offer personalized attention in a friendly, courteous environment.

Members

230 W. Maple Rd. Suite 200 Troy, MI 48084 248-362-3500 248-362-1941(FAX)