Laser resurfacing can effectively minimize post surgery scars
EXPERT ANALYSIS FROM THE ODAC CONFERENCE
Toxin injection then laser resurfacing
For some patients, injection of a neuromodulator a week or 2 before laser resurfacing treatment can decrease some of the movement and contraction of the muscle, “and hopefully give them better results,” Dr. Cohen said.
Timing is important. “You don’t want to use neuromodulators on the same day of treatment,” he advised. “The thinking is swelling could potentially cause the neuromodulators to spread to unwanted adjacent muscles.”
Safety first
Another tip for the postprocedure period is to supply patients with very specific written instructions. “I wish they would follow them. Patients don’t always listen to what we advise, demonstrate, and also have written down for them,” he commented. For example, one patient had resurfacing several weeks before leaving on an undisclosed kayaking trip. Despite instructions to use sunscreen, she said she wore a hat for sun protection and developed postinflammatory hyperpigmentation around the mouth that lasted for several months, Dr. Cohen said.*
With heavy resurfacing and ablative resurfacing in general, it is advised to always give patients an antiviral prophylaxis course such as valacyclovir, but it is unfortunate that not all patients will adhere to the recommended regimen, he added.
Another patient had an adverse reaction after resurfacing because she did not follow instructions to apply white petrolatum to her chest following laser resurfacing, Dr. Cohen said. She used Neosporin, “even though in all our paperwork we say never use Neosporin and just use the petrolatum. She had a big contact dermatitis reaction to the Neosporin.”
“So you really need to caution people about the importance of following instructions very carefully,” he emphasized.
Dr. Cohen is a consultant for Sciton and for companies that manufacture injectables, including Allergan, Galderma, and Merz.
Correction 2/24/17: An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the type of pigmentation disorder that the patient developed.
