Fraxel® Laser Treatment Offers Patients Full-Body Solution To Restore Aging and Sun Damaged Skin
PALO ALTO, CALIF - June 9, 2005. For patients who undergo a cosmetic procedure to reduce the telltale signs of aging, their face may look years younger but their untreated hands, neck, shoulders and chest often tell a different story. That's because in the past, there was no effective treatment to improve aging skin off the face. Now, the Fraxel laser, with its proven track record in fractional resurfacing of photodamaged skin, is being used successfully as a full-body resurfacing treatment.
Reliant Technologies, Inc., the pioneer of Fraxel Laser Treatment, reported that physicians across the country are validating the clinical versatility of the laser's unique mechanism of action - pixel by pixel, spot by spot - to treat aging and sun-damage on non-facial skin. The Fraxel laser is the only device specially designed to resurface a fraction of skin at a time, reducing downtime and increasing patient safety. No other cosmetic treatment, including ablative lasers or chemical peels, has been shown to treat photodamaged skin on so many areas of the body as effectively as the Fraxel laser.
Scientific data presented by cosmetic laser dermatologists and plastic surgeons at recent medical meetings confirm the Fraxel laser's success in treating non-facial skin. At the recent annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D., co-director of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery in Washington, D.C., presented her findings.
"In the past, there were simply no other modalities that could safely and effectively treat crepe-like texture and discoloration of the neck, chest and hands," said Dr. Tanzi. "Over half of my patients now want treatment of these body areas along with their face." Plastic surgeon Jay Burns, M.D., director of the Dallas Medical Skin Care Center in Dallas, TX, discussed his experience using the Fraxel laser at the ASLMS meeting and at the April 2005 American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) annual meeting.
According to Dr. Burns, "there is simply no other procedure that resurfaces skin on the neck, chest, and hands like the Fraxel laser." Dr. Burns added that the Fraxel laser has been a financial asset to his practice. "The Fraxel laser offers the kind of treatment that sells itself. Patients notice results immediately - and their friends notice as well. Because it is so well received by patients, the laser has literally paid for itself."
Also presenting at the ASAPS meeting, plastic surgeon Lawrence Bass, M.D., director of the minimally invasive plastic surgery program at NYU Medical Center in New York, NY, compared the benefits of Fraxel laser treatment with other cosmetic techniques.
"As plastic surgeons, we know how to lift and tighten," said Dr. Bass. "Now, we can optimize these results with laser treatment that complements surgery by producing improvement of periorbital wrinkles, as well as other pigment and textural changes. In my practice, the Fraxel laser has virtually replaced the intense pulsed light (IPL) and other non-ablative therapies for skin rejuvenation."
In March 2005, the Fraxel laser was granted 510(k) market approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for skin resurfacing procedures. This new indication for the Fraxel laser joins clearances obtained in 2003 for soft tissue coagulation and in 2004 for correction of periorbital wrinkles and pigmented lesions, including age spots, sun spots and skin discoloration.