To find out what photodynamic therapy and other photorejuvenation techniques can do for your rosacea or other skin problems, contact our office in northwest Oregon.
Peter Goodkin M.D.
9775 SE Sunnyside Road #500
Clackamas, Oregon 97015
P / 503-654-7546
F / 503-786-3542
A member of the ACMMSCO©™
Rosacea, and Photorejuvenation in Oregon
Even-textured, healthy, blotch-free youthful skin is the goal. Step one of getting there involves fading the red, either background redness or individual, unsightly, linear capillaries. Medical treatments usually work well for the pimples of rosacea but the redness often doesn’t resolve with pills and creams alone. Some of the most gratifying advances in dermatology have developed in the field of laser rejuvenation. The Oregon office of Dr. Peter Goodkin is pleased to provide such state-of-the-art services to our dermatology patients with rosacea or other skin conditions.
- How does a laser work?
- Red Spots
- Brown Spots
- Treatable Spots
- Safety
- I'm not into pain!
- About Four Treatments, on Average
- Results
How does a laser work?
All laser procedures work on the same principle. Every substance, including parts of the skin, absorbs light of different colors to different degrees. The color target is called the chromophore. For skin treatments, lasers are usually chosen so that their energies will be absorbed by the following chromophores:
- Melanin pigment — brown
- Hemoglobin — the red in blood flowing through the skin's capillaries
- Water — present in all skin cells
- Tattoo pigments
When its target absorbs the laser light, heat is produced and causes a selective heating of the chromophore (color). The Vbeam® Laser produces an intense but gentle burst of light that selectively destroys the blood vessels of your unwanted red areas, without damaging the surrounding tissue.
Red Spots
Most red spots and lines are actually blood vessels, either clusters of very fine capillaries or single enlarged capillaries. Clusters of fine blood vessels just make your skin look red. The finer the blood vessels, the more this looks like constant sunburn. The enlarged single capillaries look like red lines to the naked eye. Some are quite long and can bridge between the nose and the cheek.
Brown Spots
Pigmented areas are caused by an overgrowth of melanocytes or overproduction of melanin in the skin. Melanocytes are the cells that make melanin, which is the dark brown pigment in skin. Most of us have some form of pigmented lesions. These include brown age spots, keratoses, melasma, freckles, and moles.
Lesions without color are called non-pigmented spots. Examples include warts, non-pigmented moles, sebaceous hyperplasia (enlarged oil glands), and skin tags.
Treatable Spots
- Facial veins/ rosacea
- Photodamage
- Poikiloderma — mottled red and brown areas on the neck
- Spider angiomas
- Red birthmarks
- Brown splotchy irregular pigmentation of the face
- Sebaceous hyperplasia (enlarged oil glands)
- Large pores (in photodynamic treatments)
- Hypertrophic scars
- Leg veins
- Stretch marks
- Acne — the red component
Safety
The pulsed dye laser was invented to treat red birthmarks in babies. The Candela VBeam® pulsed dye laser has a long safety record and Dr. Goodkin has been using it or it’s previous generation laser, for many years. The light is in the yellow area of the visible spectrum. Training and experience are the key to safety and Dr. Goodkin has both.
I'm Not Into Pain!
As with many laser procedures, the sensation of a laser pulse is described as that of a rubber band snapped against the skin. That is not painless but 99% of our patients have done this without even topical anesthetic. It’s true the Candela Laser applies a cooling spray a fraction of a second before each laser pulse. This precools and protects the very surface of the skin while it takes some of the sting out.
About Four Treatments, on Average
Cherry angiomas and spider angiomas are often successfully eliminated with 1-2 treatments. Port wine birthmarks may require a dozen sessions. More widespread rosacea and redness on the face are usually treated with a series of sessions at about one-month intervals. One sees a gradual lightening of the redness. Some people see enough improvement in two treatments. Some go for six. The average recommendation is four. Even at four there are occasional resistant areas that require additional or alternative methods.
Results
The vast majority of treated areas show significant if not dramatic improvement in the red areas. A few people are more resistant. Frequently, when coming in for a series of treatments, one stops seeing the redness as a significant issue. It no longer stands out, even if not totally eliminated. Some people then decide to come in for touch-up sessions about every six months. This tends to keep the problem at bay and continues to help prevent facial flushing, often the problem that caused the redness from the beginning.
If you have been weighing the possibilities of laser rejuvenation of redness and rosacea, our our Oregon office staff is ready to help you. Don't wait any longer to see the benefit of these treatments.
For information about rosacea or other skin problems, contact our Oregon dermatology office to schedule an appointment with Dr. Goodkin. Your skin problems could be a thing of the past!