About our full field laser resurfacing by GMC Cosmedical
The Full Field Laser Resurfacing by GMC procedure is a targeted laser technique that removes skin, vaporising it layer by layer, in order to precisely remove damaged, scarred or aging skin and stimulate the growth of new collagen fibres to regenerate new skin that is smoother and firmer.
Full Field Laser Resurfacing by GMC is different to other ‘laser resurfacing’ treatments on the market
In contrast, because they only address a small fraction of the skin surface at a time, Fractional resurfacing procedures typically require a series of treatments. Each of those treatments requiring a healing process and recovery time, and they will still never treat the entire surface of the face. As such, they can achieve only a small portion of the benefit of our single Full Field Resurfacing procedure, regardless of how many fractional procedures are carried out.
Full Field Laser Resurfacing is a specialised procedure
Our experienced practitioners use an Erbium:YAG laser that, depending on the depth of skin damage and wrinkles, will remove damaged layers of the face down to a healthy and clean layer of skin.
We use an Erbium:YAG laser that allows for a better healing result
The Erbium:YAG laser beam directs short, controlled, concentrated pulsating beams of light to the damaged skin surface. It removes skin precisely and safely by vaporising the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) layer by layer until the entire damaged cell layers are removed, preparing the way for new healthy cell layers to replace them. It also remodels the dermis below by stimulating an intense collagen formation and deposition, creating contraction, tightening and lifting. These results will last for many years.
In comparison to the cool, precise, safe ablation of tissue and rapid comfortable healing from the Erbium:YAG laser, CO2 lasers are hot lasers and remove the tissue layers by burning them off, thereby increasing the risk of problems and requiring longer and less comfortable healing time.
Why do you also call it a laser facelift?
Laser Resurfacing FAQs
A properly carried out full field laser resurfacing procedure of the face will permanently remove all the old damaged cells of the epidermis and replace them with new healthy cells, the skin complexion will look great for years to come. In addition, the procedure will induce a strong amount of skin tightening and lifting, more than most other procedures and technologies. We call this a 'Laser Facelift'.
Our patients are comfortably managed by a form of twilight sedation from an intramuscular injection, and complete facial anaesthesia from a series of numbing nerve blocks. You will be comfortable and pain-free and possibly even doze through parts of this 90-minute procedure.
The laser cleanly removes the damaged layers of skin by vaporizing them and so there will not be the need for dressings afterwards. Immediately post-op your face will look red and puffy but quite clean. You will need to keep it clean and continually apply petroleum jelly or paw-paw ointment as directed. Both you and the person taking you home will be fully instructed on the aftercare procedure but you will already have been given instruction sheets previously. You will be comfortable and sleep well that night.
For the next day or two, you may feel a stinging sensation like a sunburn over your face but simple tablets such as paracetamol or ibuprofen are all you should need for comfort. There should be no pain beyond that.
We are contactable 24/7 if you need us, you will be given our mobile numbers for such occasions.
This is suitable for men and women of any age.
This is the treatment of choice for a wide range of conditions including all grades of sun damage, lines, keratoses, early skin cancer changes, age changes, skin laxity, loss of elasticity, all severities of acne and other forms of scarring, difficult pigmentation problems, and many other conditions. Of course, it is one of the commonest requests by patients of all ages with tired, dull, lined skin and large pores, looking for that impressive and very long-lasting cosmetic improvement of their complexion. Even heavily lined faces can be greatly improved for many years!
We are contactable 24/7 if you need us, you will be given our mobile numbers for such occasions.
Apart from any significant medical conditions, the main contraindication is the skin type – darker skin types are generally at risk of reactive hyper-pigmentation and are best avoided.
A history or tendency to keloid scarring (thick, raised over-healed scars) is another contraindication.
There are few treatments that can boast long-term or permanent results, but this is one that can do that. It is common to get 10 years or longer, and even then your skin will not have returned to its pre-laser state. Some of our patients might come back at eight or ten years requesting a repeat treatment, even though their skin may still look great, usually to boost the skin tightening and face lifting that they had previously experienced.
The possible risks are an infection, keloid scarring, and pigmentation changes. These are either preventable or manageable.
The reason the results are very long lasting or permanent is because this procedure actually removes ALL of the old sun-damaged skin cells of the dermis and replaces them with completely NEW HEALTHY ones. Skin cells reproduce new skin cells by duplicating themselves, that means they can only reproduce like for like by copying themselves, so old damaged cells can only reproduce other damaged cells to replace them, however, if you replace these with new healthy cells then these will, from now on, continue to reproduce and replace themselves with healthy good cells for many years to come.
Some results will become visible after the very first week, but the best results come later over several weeks as new skin cells replace the old ones and new collagen deposition visibly firms and lifts the skin.
With this laser we can remove expression lines such as frown and squint lines and crow's feet, but you will need to prevent them from coming back with the use of wrinkle smoothing injections. If you maintain these then you can prevent recurrence of your expression lines.
Laser resurfacing benefits the entire face, but there are two areas where this procedure has particular benefits, the area around the mouth and around the eyes. These are the two areas that bother most people.
Smoker's lines: This procedure is exceptional in permanently removing or improving smokers lines and in being able to sculpt faded lip outlines and the Cupid's Bow to restore the lips to their former shape. This reshaping of the lips is difficult to do with any other laser, including fractional lasers.
Eyelids and crow's feet: Crepey and saggy lower eyelids are best treated with this procedure, with often better than surgery can offer. Lower eyelids are tightened and smoothed and look very rejuvenated. Results will last for many years.
Laser resurfacing performed in this manner with the Erbium:YAG laser will give very long lasting or permanent results, often lasting more than 10 years. Patients may come back around that time to seek another resurfacing, but not so much for the skin appearance, which usually still looks great, but to get another laser face tightening and lift from it.
Let's use an analogy of the old timber school desk! These desk tops become scratched and stained, written upon and knocked about and indented. Now, you can clean the desk top and try to fill in the dents to make it look better, but, would it not be a far better result to sand back the entire desk surface to a clean and new layer below, which will last and look great for a very long time to come? This is what we do with laser resurfacing, we use the Erbium:YAG laser (our "sander") to remove the damaged top layers of the skin down to a new and healthier skin below, giving us excellent and very long-lasting results.
Pre-treatment with hyaluronic acid gel fillers in the treatment area may pose a risk as they hydrate by absorbing water and this water will attract the laser beam to itself. We will consult with you regarding any fillers and laser resurfacing to exclude any contraindications from fillers.
The procedure is carried our under twilight sedation and local anaesthetic nerve blocks that completely anaesthetise your face, so you will be comfortable through it.
Post laser, you will experience a sunburnt sensation for the first two days, following which there is no pain at all.
Post laser you will be driven home by a support person. We suggest you go to bed, where you will sleep well through the night thanks to the medication. In the morning, you will be up to have a shower and wash your hair.
There is a sunburnt sensation for the first couple of days only and thereafter there should be no pain at all.
You will look quite yucky the first week (oozing and mucky) but no discomfort, and around day 3 or 4 you will possibly be asking yourself WHY you did this. Then, with the improvement by day seven you will start to see quite clearly WHY WE DO do this!
