Non-Surgical Facelift on the First Coast

JACKSONVILLE, FL ? The fight against the hands of time has a new weapon. People are the First Coast are now getting facelifts without any surgery and with very little downtime.

The new tool is the Fraxel Re:pair laser from Reliant Technologies. It was just approved by the FDA in December 2007.

Dr. Mary Pentel at Southside Dermatology says it is changing the way she treats patients.

"Before when people would ask me about acne scarring there were very few options," says Dr. Pentel. But the new Fraxel laser allows for aggressive treatment of scars, discoloration and wrinkles.

There are several lasers on the market. Dr. Pentel says many of them, including the Fraxel Re:fine and Fraxel Re:Structure, are non-ablative lasers. That means that it doesn't go very deep and fixes only superficial problems.

"Another downside is they require repeat treatments," says Dr. Pentel.

The Fraxel Re:pair is an ablative CO2 laser. The old versions of the CO2 lasers would burn off the old skin in full layers.

But the Fraxel Re:pair is a fractionated laser. "It creates deep holes into your in your skin," says Dr. Pentel. "This prompts your body to rebuild collagen. You still have normal skin around the holes so you will heal faster."

Dr. Pentel says in the 2.5 years of studies of the Fraxel Re:pair the researchers proved there was actually new collagen growth by using a staining process.

This means much less downtime then with the old CO2 lasers. Dr. Pentel says you can resume normal activities in about 5 days.

Before the procedure most patients have an oral sedative, a topical sedative and sometimes nerve blocks.

The treatment lasts about an hour and is done right in the doctor's office.

Dr. Pentel glides the laser slowing over the face. She generally makes 4 passes over the same area before moving onto another part of the face.

"With each pass we'll see more skin being excreted," says Dr. Pentel. She can adjust the level of the laser but for more dramatic results the patient will need a higher level.

"If someone wants skin tightening I need to be more aggressive."

As Dr. Pentel does several passes over the skin there starts to be more pinpoint bleeding. There is also some swelling and redness during the procedure.

The procedure can be painful. "The neck and jawline are very painful," says Dr. Pentel. "But the beauty of this laser is I can dial it down."

Linda Bryan from Jacksonville had the Fraxel Re:Pair treatment from Dr. Pentel. She says there were parts that were painful but it was worth it to her.

"There is saying that when a dream is big enough the little details don't matter," says Bryan. "To me the pain was the detail."

Bryan had spent some 30 years trying procedures like dermabrasion or over-the-counter products.

"I bet I spend thousands of dollars in over-the-counter products," says Bryan.

She had cystic acne as a teenager that followed her into adulthood.

"I had a lot of scarring from the acne around my cheeks, chin and a couple of spots on the forehead," says Bryan.

Dr. Pentel says in years pass there hasn't been a good long-term solution for acne scars. Bryant says she agrees. Most of the things she tried required several repeat treatments or didn't last.

"I wanted an aggressive treatment," says Bryan. So when the Fraxel Re:pair became available, Bryant was ready.

She says the first few days after the treatment her skin looked "scary".

"As my skin peeled, beneath was really, really red," says Bryan. "I think for the first 3 or 4 days I looked like a burn victim. But five days after the treatment I was applying mineral makeup to cover up the redness and it worked."

Six weeks later she is seeing big results now.

"The texture of my face, it feels very smooth," says Bryan. "The discoloration is gone. I caught my reflection in the mirror at one of the restrooms and I thought 'wow, that's me.'"

Dr. Pentel says the full results of the Fraxel Re:pair may not be seen for 3 months. That is because the collagen needs time to remodel.

But Bryan says it's already changing her life. "I feel like I have a new lease on life," says Bryant.

The Fraxel Re:pair laser is only approved for skin types 1 through 4. "That means from very white, caucasian skin, that doesn't see alot of sun to light asians or light hispanics," says Dr. Pentel.

It's also not for younger people looking for only minor changes.

"If they are thinking about a facelift but not ready or don't want surgery then this might be for them," says Dr. Pentel. "Women who usually do well with the Fraxel Re:pair are in their 40's, 50's maybe early 60's who want a little tightening."