ABSTRACT
References 587
1. INTRODUCTION
Since the early 1990s, laser resurfacing with short-pulsed, high energy carbon dioxide
(CO2) lasers has been utilized to treat photodamaged skin and acne scars. The introduction
of short-duration erbium:YAG (Er:YAG) lasers in the mid-1990s offered another option
for resurfacing either with the Er:YAG alone or in combination with a CO2 laser. The
use of the various CO2 lasers and their adverse effects have been detailed in Chapter 33.
Perhaps the most common and also the most easily avoidable of these is prolonged
erythema and delayed wound healing. Avoidance of these two adverse effects requires
intensive patient education as well as close postoperative surveillance and early interven-
tion when signs first appear. We have previously demonstrated that these adverse effects
are secondary to nonspecific thermal damage present after laser resurfacing (1).
