Posted July 15, 2009 in Accent XL (Fat Sculpting, Skin Tightening), Blog, Eyelid Lift, Face Lift, Fraxel Laser Treatment, Uncategorized
Yesterday on the plastic surgery patient chat site RealSelf.com, Carol from La Jolla asked is Fraxel an option instead of facelift “If I don’t want to do a Facelift; is the Fraxel laser a good option?”
The question stirred many answers (18), so many that after participating in a 12 hour marathon charity golf tournament, I was too late and locked out from answering the question on the site. Here is my answer, “Hi Carol, You have asked a great question and obviously one that strikes controversy in the facial plastic surgery world with close to 20 responses here on RS. To answer your question precisely as you asked it, yes Fraxel repair or Deep FX are excellent options for patients who do not wish to undergo surgical facelift, but desire to look younger, healthier, and natural. Fractionated CO2 lasers will not replace surgical face-lifting (particularly in patients with large amount of excessive tissue), but are one of the best options for those who don’t want to have surgery. It is a great treatment for men and women in their 40’s and 50’s experiencing the dredded early signs of aging, loss of mid facial volume, eyelid wrinkles, and the first appearance of jowling. In many patients who have minimal laxity of their face and neck, there is enough tightening so that face lift is not necessary. Again, depending upon the individual patient’s anatomy, there is a subset of patients who will likely not need surgical face-lifting with the combination of fractionated CO2 laser, radiofrequency skin tightening such as Accent XL, and fillers. It also is effective in patients in their 60’s and 70’s. Great question, please join us at our next plastic surgical meeting on the Controversies Panel. Be well, Dr. P
