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Using Lasers for Looks

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Terri Chance, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.

Dec. 13--Having wrinkles smoothed and facial blemishes removed doesn't necessarily demand a surgeon's knife and weeks of recovery. These days, an educated touch with a laser can do both.

It's becoming a fashion trend -- like having your teeth whitened -- to receive non-surgical or non-invasive procedures to improve appearance.

The American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery reported in January that 15 percent of American men and almost 85 percent of American women have had some type of non-surgical cosmetic procedure, including chemical peels, laser procedures and injections such as Botox, collagen and Restylane. The procedures are generally intended to reduce wrinkles, acne, blood vessels and improve skin texture.

At Broomfield Medical Associates, Dr. Lawrence Janowski, whose specialty is internal medicine, recently added a menu of non-surgical cosmetic techniques. It's becoming so popular, he said, especially with baby boomers, that it's common for many non-specialists to add the procedure to their practice.

"The biggest growth market is with internists, obstetricians and gynecologists and family practice doctors," he said.

Laser processes are simple, Janowski said, and except for redness and a slight discomfort, recovery is rapid.

Laser resurfacing is a controlled burning procedure during which a laser vaporizes superficial layers of facial skin, according to www.faqs.org/docs.

Janowski said the skin might be irritated for a few days, but the process does the job. Patients should receive up to four treatments to get the full effect when removing spots and wrinkles, he said.

The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate who can perform such procedures, and Janowski said in Colorado, anyone can purchase the machine and do the procedure. However, while the technique is simple, intense training is important when it comes to what could go wrong.

He recommends patients see a doctor who has been trained and certified in the technique. If it's done wrong, "it can cause streaking, which is a red and white striping effect. You can burn the skin if you use a laser on someone who's recently had a suntan and cause tremendous damage," he said.

And in dark-skinned people, using the laser incorrectly can result in hypo pigmentation.

"That means you're turning their skin from dark to light and that's permanent. It will give them patches of white skin," Janowski said.

Training from national companies, such as MedSurge Advances, trains physicians in the use of lasers and intense pulse light procedures.

Broomfield resident Sherry Wakefield recently had her first treatment to remove fine lines and sun spots from her face. She reported it wasn't very painful and made an appointment for another treatment in two weeks -- the mandatory waiting time.

MedSurge spokesman Shad Watson said a test spot is done on the patient to check the intensity of the light beam, which is a 10 millimeter-by-20 millimeter crystal rectangle. The doctor applies the crystal to the area, which flashes for a fraction of a second, then the skin is observed for irritation. If the patient is comfortable and the skin responds normally, the procedure continues.

Janowski said the non-invasive treatments will be secondary to his internal medicine practice.

Treatments, such as laser hair removal, range in price at Janowski's office from $50 to $250, depending on the area of the body.

Ironically, people will shell out the money for those procedures, even though they complain about basic medical care costs that run less.

"People are very willing to pay for it because they see immediate results but at the same time, they don't want to pay the $20 copay to fix their upper respiratory infection," Janowski said.

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Source: Daily Camera

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