Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing

With regard to acne, in 80% of cases, the first application of ETCA to active papulopustular facial lesions improves their number and severity by 50%, and the lesions seem to heal without scarring. ETCA is applied on the basis of one peel per week for 4 weeks that clear the lesions almost completely without having to resort to antibiotics. Deep wrinkles and acne scars do not disappear they lie deep under the skin and even phenol or carbon dioxide laser resurfacing cannot always treat them. A combination of several different techniques is clearly needed in these indications. 

Phenol peel versus carbon dioxide laser resurfacing... 

Alster TS, West TB (1996) Resurfacing of atrophic facial acne scars with a high-energy, pulsed carbon dioxide laser. Dermatol Surg 22 151-154... 

Although cataract surgery is a potential precursor to bullous keratopathy, there are many other causes. Fuchs endothelial dystrophy, infection, trauma, retained foreign body, posterior polymorphous dystrophy, chronic uveitis, chronically elevated intraocular pressure (lOP), and vitreous touch are all known causes of bullous keratopathy. Other less common causes of bullous keratopathy include corneal thermal injury secondary to carbon dioxide laser skin resurfacing, air bag trauma, the use of topical dorzolamide hydrochloride in glaucoma patients with endothelial compromise, and use of mitomycin C during trabeculectomy surgery. 

Eitzpatrick RE, Tope WD, Goldman MP et al (1996) Pulsed carbon dioxide laser, trichloroacetic acid, Baker-Gordon phenol, and dermabrasion a comparative clinical and histologic study of cutaneous resurfacing in porcine model. Arch Dermatol 32 469-471... 

Medicine. Lasers have become commonplace in medicine, from skin-resurfacing and vision-correction procedures to the use of carbon-dioxide lasers in general surgery. 

Tanzi EL, Alster TS (2003) Single-pass carbon dioxide versus multiple-pass Er YAG laser skin resurfacing a comparison of postoperative wound healing and side-effect rates. Dermatol Surg 29(l) 80-84... 

---