Laser Skin Resurfacing Services

Having wrinkles, acne scars and sun-damaged skin can make you feel self-conscious about your appearance. Across the Sutter Health network, cosmetic surgeons, dermatologists and other skin care professionals use a variety of laser resurfacing procedures to rejuvenate the skin on your face, neck, chest and hands.

Laser resurfacing can treat common skin disorders and reduce the signs of aging. It’s often used to treat uneven pigmentation, skin blotches, fine lines, acne scarring, stretch marks, age spots, post-surgical scars and large pores. There are many different types of skin resurfacing procedures, using a wide variety of laser devices.

Erbium laser skin resurfacing, CO2 laser skin resurfacing and fractional CO2 laser skin resurfacing are some of the most common procedures performed. Knowledgeable doctors and skin care professionals in the Sutter Health network can help you determine the proper treatment for your skin care needs.  With the right care, including a good home skin care regimen and no extensive sun exposure, the results of laser skin resurfacing can last for many years.

Erbium Laser Skin Resurfacing

Erbium laser resurfacing is a safe and accurate procedure designed to remove superficial and moderately deep lines and wrinkles on your face. This precise, controllable and predictable technology offers minimal pain and fast healing times. The erbium laser produces less burning of surrounding tissues than many other lasers, allowing your doctor to gently and comfortably vaporize damaged skin cells one layer at a time. Recovery time is typically a week.

CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing

The highly sophisticated CO2 laser offers a powerful and effective way to reduce sun damage and deep wrinkles, giving you a smoother complexion without scarring. This laser allows your doctor to have unprecedented control over the rejuvenation process, gently and precisely removing layers of damaged skin cells. It deeply penetrates your skin, stimulating skin renewal for a softer, silkier and smoother appearance. Recovery time is about two weeks.

Fractional CO2 Laser Skin Resurfacing

Advanced fractional CO2 laser skin resurfacing may have a less dramatic result than traditional CO2 laser skin resurfacing, but the healing time is significantly shorter. Most fractional CO2 laser patients heal in less than one week. Unlike traditional CO2 laser resurfacing where the entire skin layer is fully ablated or vaporized, the fractional CO2 system ablates the skin in columns, leaving untreated areas of skin between treated areas of skin. Since these treated areas are much smaller than the surrounding healthy tissue, the healing time is reduced.