Select a Procedure: Facial Skin Rejuvenation | Skin Rejuvenation Consultation | Skin Rejuvenation Procedures | Injectable Materials | Botox® | Cutera System | Ablative Skin Rejuvenation

Skin Rejuvenation and Laser Center

Facial Skin Rejuvenation

The appearance of your skin may be affected by heredity, sun exposure, smoking, skin disorders, and environmental exposure. The results of these conditions may include texture irregularities like wrinkles, acne scarring, pigmentation changes like freckles and sun spots, visible blood vessels, loss of tone, firmness and elasticity. All of this can give the illusion of an older you.

The myriad of options available today can be overwhelming. Patients may find it helpful to consider the options from simple to complex, then decide what works for you as an individual, what suits your lifestyle, economic situation, work and family obligations?

The goal is to improve skin texture, clarity and overall appearance of your skin. The individual condition or combination of issues to address may be:

• Static wrinkles
• Dynamic wrinkles
• Pigmentation
• Scars
• Vascular conditions
• Loss of skin tone or elasticity

Skin rejuvenation alone may achieve your goal to improve your appearance or may be performed to enhance the results of other plastic surgery procedures such as facelift or eyelid surgery. Skin of the upper lip, or larger areas such as the total face, chest or hands may be of concern.

Skin rejuvenation falls into categories defined as:

• Chemical - topical applications
• Injectable materials - i.e. Botox®, dermal fillers
• Mechanical
• Non-ablative - treatments that do not remove but rather penetrate the skin superficially
• Ablative - treatments that remove the uppermost layer of skin in varying degrees
• Laser and energy - inclusive of ablative and non-ablative, these treatments include, laser energy, light based energy, radio-frequency, and infra-red technology

Skin Rejuvenation Consultation

We begin the process with a consultation with Dr. Yates or our plastic surgery skin care specialist. Our consultation objectives are to discuss your goals, evaluate your individual skin type and condition, discuss the options available to treat your specific needs, review a course of treatment, and explain potential outcomes, duration of results, and need for maintaining those results.

Skin Rejuvenation Procedures

Topical Skincare Treatments

The Skin Rejuvenation and Laser Center offers a wide range of product lines to accommodate our patients' skin care needs. Debra Yates, a nationally renowned skin care specialist provides a list of services and expertise that comes with experience in a field of rapidly advancing technology. Under the direction of Dr. Yates, our patients have the benefit of products like topical tretinoin (Retin-A), PrevageMD, Skin Medica, Murad, SkinCeuticals, OMP (Obagi), to name just a few. Microdermabrasion, chemical peels that refine skin clarity, tone and appearance with generally little to no recovery time. A series of treatments may be required to maintain your results.

Injectable Materials

Botox®

Botox® Cosmetic is the only FDA-approved treatment for the temporary reduction of moderate to severe frown lines between the brows in patients 18 to 65 years of age.

The lines that appear between your brows result from muscle movement and the passage of time. Two muscles are largely responsible for frown lines between the brows. As skin loses its elasticity over time, repeated frowning can result in those moderate to severe lines between your brows.

Botox® Cosmetic works by blocking nerve impulses, which reduces the movement of those muscles. With less movement, the skin surface gradually smoothes out and the frown lines between your brows will begin to fade.

Botox® Cosmetic is a purified protein. It is a non-surgical treatment via injection into the muscles. The entire procedure can take as little as 10 to 15 minutes, discomfort is minimal and brief. You can expect to see improvement within days after your treatment. Visible results can last up to four months.

Patients with neurological disorders such as ALS, Myasthenia Gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome may be at increased risk of serious side effects. The most common side effects include headache, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, temporary eyelid droop, bruising at the injection site, and nausea.

Your own results may vary. If you decide not to continue with Botox® Cosmetic the area between your brows will eventually return to its pre-treatment appearance.

Dermal Fillers

Dermal fillers restore volume and fullness to the skin to correct moderate to severe facial wrinkles and creases, such as the lines from the nose to the corners of the mouth, from the corners of the mouth extending toward the chin. One of the most commonly used and patient preferred materials is a non-animal based hyaluronic acid. Hyaluronic acid is a natural substance that already exists in the human body and is used to provide volume and fullness to the skin. Full correction can last 6 to 8 months. Most patients will schedule treatments every six months, having a treatment before the product has fully dissipated may enhance the lasting effect.

Hyaluronic acid fillers are injected directly into the skin in tiny amounts with a very fine needle. Some patients may opt to discuss methods to decrease discomfort prior to treatment, several options are available. The treated areas may exhibit redness, swelling, or bruising at the injection sites which will fade over the next several days.

The amount of filler required will vary from person to person and the depth and number of areas requiring correction can all impact the amount needed to produce optimal results.

The face is an ever changing landscape, patients may feel that they want more permanent correction than the hyaluronic acids provide, but one must consider how that fullness will look 2 years from the treatment date, what if you do not like the effect that the filler created, what are your options? These are all important considerations Dr. Yates will discuss with you at length during your consultation, sometimes, temporary can be a good thing. Dermal fillers are a rapidly changing technology, new varieties and consistencies tailored for specific areas are becoming available as you consider incorporating them into your rejuvenation. Our goal is to evaluate each one and educate you as to how they apply to your needs.

At Plastic Surgery Center, Ltd. we offer a choice of fillers.

• Restylane
• Perlane
• Juvederm Ultra
• Juvederm Ultra Plus
• Prevelle
• Radiesse

Some non-ablative treatments rejuvenate the skin by penetrating energy beneath the skin surface to create changes on a cellular level. These treatments include laser and light-based procedures. We offer a variety of technologies:

Cutera System

Pearl

The latest in laser resurfacing technology, it does not have significant downtime. It effectively treats fine lines, uneven texture, mild acne, and discoloration, without using sedation and requires minimal post treatment wound care. It uses residual heat so that the dermis generates new collagen growth.

Titan - Infrared Skin Tightening

Titan utilizes a safe infra-red light to heat the dermis well below the skin's surface. The most common areas for treatment are the jawline, under the chin, and the abdomen. Since the Titan procedure heats tissue under the skin's surface, patients of any skin type or age can be treated. Most patients will undergo a series of 2 to 3 treatments one month apart. The Cutera Titan gives you an option to enhance skin tone.

Limelight IPL - Intelligent Pulsed Light

The Cutera Limelight delivers a non-invasive light treatment that can be customized for different skin tones and aging skin conditions and photodamage. The Limelight is ideal for face, neck, and décolleté with skin redness, telangiectasia (tiny veins), or brown spots. The treatments are usually sufficient to see results. Additional treatments may be recommended for excessively sun damaged skin. Immediately following treatment, brown spots may darken and your skin may appear slightly red. This may last several hours to a day or two.

Coolglide - Vascular

The Cutera Coolglide can treat veins (telangiectasia) on all parts of the body. Often, patients will find that one to two treatments may be necessary. Most patients may experience a stinging sensation. Make-up may be applied following the treatment. Patients will find that the veins will show an improvement within 2 to 6 weeks following the treatment. However, your final results may not be apparent for several months.

Prowave - Coolglide Hair Reduction

The Cutera hair reduction system provides two methods for effective treatment of unwanted hair. Most areas require 6 treatments one to two months apart. The treatments work by disabling the hair that is in the active growth phase at the time of treatment. Since other hairs will enter this active growth phase at different times, additional treatments may be necessary to disable all of the hair follicles in a given area.

Laser Genesis - Texture Smoothing

The Laser Genesis procedure utilizes non-invasive laser technology to safely and effectively treat fine lines, large pores, uneven skin texture, diffuse redness and scars. Patients often describe the treatment as relaxing and therapeutic. You will experience a gentle warming of your skin's surface. You can return to normal activity immediately following your treatment. Laser Genesis stimulates collagen regrowth. On average you will require 4 to 6 treatments in order to achieve optimal results.

3D Skin Rejuvenation

Cutera's 3D Skin Rejuvenation takes a three tiered approach to rejuvenating you skin for a combination of facial aging issues. Limelight, Laser Genesis and Titan are unified to address red and/or brown spots, sun damage, fine lines and wrinkles and skin laxity.

• Quantum IPL - Intense Pulse Light
• N-Lite Wrinkle Reduction Laser
• N-Lite Vascular Pulse Dye Laser

Non-ablative laser and light-based procedures treat specific skin concerns based on the spectrum of light used. Commonly treated conditions include irregular pigmentation, visible vascular changes in the skin, excess hair, and in some cases improve scars. Non-ablative laser, radio-frequency and infra-red treatments can also be performed to stimulate collagen production within the skin. Anesthesia is generally not required but a topical anesthetic cream may be recommended for comfort. Some redness or sensitivity may be experienced for several days following treatment. A series of treatments may be required for optimal results and those results may appear over time. In some instances follow-up treatments may be required to maintain your results.

Cutera Pearl Laser Resurfacing

The Pearl procedure combines the impact of resurfacing lasers with the gentleness and safety of non-invasive procedures to treat aging and sun damaged skin. Pearl reduces wrinkles, uneven texture, solar damage with fewer treatments and less overall recovery. The procedure takes 20 to 30 minutes in an office based setting. A topical anesthetic cream is applied to the face one hour prior to the procedure. Most patients will experience a 3 to 4 day period of "social downtime." Make-up may be applied 3 to 4 days following the procedure.

Some patients may require two treatments spaced approximately one month apart to achieve their desired results.

Ablative Skin Rejuvenation

CO² Laser Resurfacing

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing remains the gold standard in wrinkle reduction and stimulation of collagen production. The most complex procedure in terms of recovery and patient participation in the ultimate outcome, CO2 laser will create dramatic wrinkle reduction and facial skin tightening. Controlled thermal damage of the skin of the face is a result of water vaporization on a cellular level which in turn generates collagen formation to fill in wrinkles.

CO² Laser Resurfacing Consultation

We begin the process with an in depth office consultation with Dr. Yates to discuss your goals and expectations. Following an evaluation of your facial skin quality, depth and degree of wrinkles, Dr. Yates will discuss an individualized treatment plan to best suit your needs.

CO² Laser Resurfacing Procedure

Dr. Yates performs full face CO² laser resurfacing. In some instances, regional areas of the face, like the upper lip or specific areas of concern can be targeted for resurfacing. CO² laser resurfacing can be a "stand-alone" procedure or performed as an ancillary procedure following a facelift to smooth remaining wrinkles after correction of gravitational facial changes. The care after laser resurfacing can make or break the end result, facial cleansing, application of an ointment to keep the skin moist while it is healing, and cool, wet compresses are all part of a care routine the patient will participate in for a period of 10 to 14 days following the surgery. Make-up and skin care support are provided as you continue to improve.

CO² Laser Resurfacing - The Surgery

CO² Laser resurfacing takes approximately 1 hour and is performed as an out patient under general anesthesia. Dedicated laser eye protection is provided with this procedure as well as specific anesthesia considerations. The procedure is performed at Grandview Surgery and Laser Center of Camp Hill, a state licensed, accredited facility housed within our medical complex. Anesthesia is provided by a board certified anesthesiologist (physician). Your comfort and safety is always our primary concern. Dr. Yates will perform all of your surgery.

Click here to view before and after photos

See our other products and services we offer at Skin Rejuvenation & Last Center.

Talk to our nationally renowned aesthetician Debra Yates and Saunda Wolfersberger, R.N. about the latest buzz in lasers, injectables, skin care treatments and products.

Debra Yates serves as a skin care consultant and the editorial board of NewBeauty Magazine.