Laser

 

 

 
There's hardly a person today who hasn't heard of lasers. They scan your purchases at the grocery store and play the music on your compact  discs - and they are revolutionizing the practice of medicine, including the field of facial plastic surgery.
[Before and after Laser]
Lasers were first used in facial plastic surgery in the mid-1970s to treat facial blemishes - such as strawberry marks and port wine stains - that  previously could not be treated effectively. Since then, lasers have become increasingly important in many aspects of facial plastic surgery, and interest in laser surgery is growing.
WHAT IS A LASER?
A versatile  tool with a variety of uses, the laser is a device that produces a highly focused beam of light energy at one specific wavelength. Laser beams are generated by stimulating the molecules in a special gas-filled tube by electric  current or radio waves. This produces a beam of light that is then amplified with mirrors placed in the tube. The result is an intense beam of light with special properties.
The type of gas used to produce this beam of light determines the beam's wavelength, or color. Different wavelengths of laser energy produce different effects when the laser beam is used on skin tissue. Thus, some types of laser  devices are used to vaporize tissue; others are used to create incisions with  little or no bleeding; and still others pass harmlessly through the surface  layers to destroy abnormal blood vessels located beneath the skin. Treating surface problems with laser technology.
The treatment of sun-damaged skin has been revolutionized by the advent of laser technology. With a CO2 laser, which uses carbon dioxide gas to create a  colorless infrared light, a surgeon can vaporize the surface of the skin, allowing healthy new skin to emerge.
The beam may be pulsed - each burst of energy lasting only a millionth of a  second - which allows the heat to dissipate, minimizing damage to healthy tissue  nearby. This laser device can be used with great precision, even in areas that  cannot be treated safely with dermabrasion or chemical peeling. Laser resurfacing also is used for treating warts, scars, superficial birthmarks, and  certain precancerous skin lesions, and especially to smooth aged or wrinkled  sun-damaged skin.