Co2 laser resurfacing video for learning about Active and Deep Fx, Total and Max Fx by Philip Young MD of Bellevue: I always get asked these questions on what is the difference between these terms regarding cO2 laser resurfacing. Active FX is the superficial component that shoots wider spot sizes that are superficial in the depth of penetration into the skin. Deep FX is the deep component that shoots narrow beams that reach deeper in the skin. The Active FX treats the sun spots and the superficial elements of the skin like the fine wrinkles. The Deep FX treats the skin by tightening the skin. When you combine the two it is considered total FX. Both Active and Deep are fractionated and within a 1 cm squared spot size there are more tinier spot sizes that are shot within the 1 cm but they are not completely covering the 1 cm spot. There is healthy untreated tissue within the 1 cm spot size to allow the healing to be faster and your recovery faster. Max fx is when you use Active Fx and the 1 cm spot size is completely covered within and it is not fractionated. With Max I usually do 2 passes to get even deeper.

Here is a video to further help you understand:

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Philip Young MD

We are releasing a new co2 laser resurfacing live video demonstration by Dr. Philip Young of Bellevue | Seattle. Come see our new video and learn more about cO2 laser resurfacing. We also have very informative pages on laser resurfacing if you are planning to have this with your doctor that would be helpful in preparing for the pre procedure time period and after the procedure.

Laser resurfacing involves using a laser monochromatic light (co2, erbium) to remove the top layers of your skin. This action leaves the remaining skin cells located within the hair follicles to “resurface” the areas that have been removed from the laser resurfacing process. In that process you get a renewal of brand new skin over the treated areas. The healing that takes place (under cover) over the next year, leads to an increase in collagen production under the skin cells that tightens the skin layer and reduces fine wrinkles. This gives you an overall improvement to your skin. The lasering of the top layers also removes unwanted skin pigmentation issues, DNA damaged skin cells in the more superficial layers, and other damaged cells and tissue elements. The end results that is achieved is fresh renewed skin with more even pigmentation, decreased fine wrinkles, and more even texture.

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Our team at Aesthetic Facial Plastic Surgery!

Active fx and its help with reducing skin cancer by Philip Young MD of Bellevue: Active fx may reduce your recurrence rate for skin cancer. However, you should know that active fx is a fractionated approach and will get a percentage of your affected cells. Most of the studies on reducing the recurrence of skin cancer are based on complete resurfacing through either chemical peels or laser resurfacing. So, if you really want to reduce your risk of skin cancer I would suggest more complete chemical peels or laser resurfacing.  For Active fx, the term would be max fx and this would be more traditional resurfacing and riskier in some sense but safe in qualified hands and a person with experience.  We have a tremendous amount of information on our website on these subjects with a photo diary of someone who underwent this procedure. Here is a link to our Laser Resurfacing Photo Diary of Healing.

Thanks for reading, Dr Young

Dr Young specializes in Facial Cosmetic and Reconstructive Surgery and is located in Bellevue near Seattle, Washington