“There's minimal downtime.” “The pain will be moderate.” “ There is no swelling." Anyone who has fallen for those soothing words, only to wake up after a laser treatment with her face on fire and looking like a slab of beef carpaccio, knows how misleading recovery terminology can be. To help ease the confusion, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery has come up with a lexicon of terms for doctors to use that they hope will help quantify for patients the downtime, bruising, redness, swelling, and pain associated with laser and light-based treatments.

Talking Downtime

No downtime: Means it will take more than your lunch hour but less than 24 hours to look like yourself.

Minimal: You can expect 24 to 72 hours of downtime.

Moderate: It will take three to seven days to recover.
Significant: You'll want to hide out for more than a week.

Talking Bruising

No bruising: Well, this one is not exactly true. There can be some pigment change, but it should fade fast and can easily be covered up with concealer.

Minimal bruising: The bruising will take a week to go away.

Moderate: Bruising will fade in one to two weeks.
Significant: It will take more than two weeks for the bruising to disappear. Buy some heavy duty makeup to wear in the meantime.

Talking Redness

None: Again, not exactly accurate. You may see some redness in the first 24 hours.

Minimal: You can expect one to three days of redness.

Moderate: Count on four to seven days of redness. 

Significant: Don’t do this treatment the week before you're having your picture taken. It will take more than a week to look like yourself again.

Talking Swelling

Essentially none: Again, this means some. It will resolve in less than three days. 

Minimal: You'll be puffy for three to seven days.
Moderate: This is not so moderate—eight to 14 days of swelling.
Significant: This is really significant swelling that takes more than two weeks to heal.

Talking Pain and Discomfort

Essentially none: This means you may need to take something like Tylenol for any pain you have. 

Minimal: You may require a topical painkiller during treatment and a prescription painkiller after.

Moderate: Same as above, plus some local anesthesia before treatment.

Significant: You'll require some intravenous sedation or general anesthesia before treatment. (Translation: This treatment is going to hurt. You'll be knocked out.)

*This story was taken from Allure Magazine's Oct 31, 2011 issue by Joan Kron, which can be viewed here.

Laser skin resurfacing improves the appearance of fine lines or wrinkles, scars and discolored areas of the skin. It can treat problems around the eyes and mouth and can also treat large areas of the face.

Skin resurfacing procedures have grown in popularity according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. That's because they offer more advantages over procedures that may cause pain, bleeding, bruising and require a shorter recovery time. 

In laser skin resurfacing, laser light is used to target problem areas that may be superficial and also for deep layers of the skin. Laser skin resurfacing can treat scars, wrinkles, and discoloration.

Laser Skin Resurfacing may not be appropriate for everyone including people with olive, tanned, or black skin. 

Before you undergo Laser Skin Resurfacing, you may need to use special creams or lotions to prepare your skin. You may also need to take antiviral, antibacterial or anti-yeast medication to prevent complications.

Laser Skin Resurfacing can be done as an outpatient surgery in an office or in a hospital with topical or local anesthesia or with intravenous sedation. Treatment time may be as little as a few minutes to as much as a couple of hours, all depending on the skin resurfacing you need. The laser will remove outer skin layers to find the layer that is least affected by problems. 

You may require one or more sessions to get the results you desire.

Temporary side effects include swelling and discomfort which can be treated with medication and ice packs.  You should not experience any bleeding. Your skin may develop a crust which must not be picked or you'll end up getting scarred. After Laser Skin Resurfacing, patients must avoid skin exposure and must apply sun block protection factor that is 30 or higher. Makeup can be worn after two or three weeks.

Contact our office if you are interested in learning more about Laser Skin Resurfacing.