Question: I have extensive wrinkling on my cheeks. I would like a laser anti-aging treatment. How affective is this in removing the deep wrinkles. Is there any way to visualize what I will look like before I get the treatment?
Answer: Laser resurfacing can be extremely affective at removing deeper wrinkles when the procedure is performed in experienced hands with the correct device. Essentially CO2 laser or erbium laser will be necessary to create marked improvements in deep wrinkles. This is a very aggressive treatment and should be performed only by physicians with extensive experience in deep laser resurfacing. It does require about a week of heal time where you are going to have significant downtime due to the fact that the skin will be oozing and you will be required to cover this with a protective emollient or balm to prevent these areas from drying out and getting crusty. There are software programs that can take a digital image and allow you to see what the visualized end result would be but obviously this is just an estimation and I prefer to show patients before and after pictures of other clients that we have treated so that they understand the improvement that can be expected.