Contact: Lisa Doty
847-956-0900, ldoty@asds.net

CHICAGO, IL–According to research presented today at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), fractional laser resurfacing has a relatively low complication rate, the majority of which are temporary and do not result in scarring.

“Our study retrospectively looked at 961 fractional laser treatments that were conducted at a single center,” said Tina S. Alster, MD, Director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery and Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Georgetown University Medical Center, senior author of the study.  “Of those, fewer than eight percent resulted in any type of side effect or complication.  This was true regardless of patient age, skin type, or skin location treated.”

Fractional lasers produce microthermal treatment zones, or thousands of tiny but deep columns of heat in the skin.  The treatment eliminates old skin cells and induces new collagen formation.  Unlike other types of laser treatments, which can cause significant skin wounds with crusting and prolonged postoperative recovery, fractional lasers leave the surrounding tissue unaffected and intact.  This "fractional" treatment allows the skin to heal much faster than if the entire area were treated at once, using the body's natural healing process to create new, healthy tighter tissue to replace skin imperfections.

Fractional laser resurfacing can be performed on the skin of the face, neck, chest and hands to reduce or eliminate wrinkles, improve the appearance of sun damage, reduce age blemishes, minimize acne scars and dark spots.  The procedure can be performed in a dermatologic surgeon’s office with only a topical anesthetic.

The most common side effects were minimal redness and swelling, followed by acne (1.87 percent), and herpes simplex virus (cold sore) outbreaks (1.77 percent).  None of the complications produced any long-term problems.

Founded in 1970, the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery is the largest specialty organization in the world exclusively representing dermasurgeons, board-certified physicians who are specifically trained to treat the health, function and appearance of the skin and soft tissue with both medically necessary and cosmetic procedures, using surgical and non-surgical methods.  For more information on medical or cosmetic skin procedures, and referrals to ASDS members in your state, log on at asds.net.