Published: July 05, 2007 07:08 pm      

Beauty by light

What you need to know about laser treatment

FAIRMONT — The time you spend covering up the redness, veins or birthmarks and plucking unwanted hairs could be time left for you to enjoy life.

Many add up the costs of cosmetic procedures and determine it’s worth it.

Acne scars, spider veins, unwanted hair, rosacea, age spots and more can be treated by the use of laser treatment.

Dr. Beth Santmyire Rosenberger, dermatologist, has the only dermatology practice in Marion County and uses a laser to treat a number of skin issues.

She uses a 1064 NdYag laser for hair removal, treatment of face veins and leg veins, photorejunevation and treatment of acne scarring and stretch marks, and Intense Pulsed Light for treatment of acne, rosacea and brown age spots.

A laser is a focused beam of light to target specific structures in the skin.

“Only a 1064nm laser effectively penetrates to the deeper layers of the skin where the root of the hair and a number of blood vessels lie,” Rosenberger said. “In contrast, an intense pulsed light device (which we also have in the office, but we do not use for hair removal) contains many wavelengths of light between 560nm and 1200nm. This type of device is generally less effective for permanent hair removal, but works well for lightening age spots and redness in the skin. Many things are marketed as a ‘laser.’ It is important for patients to do their research and understand the above information to evaluate laser treatment options in an educated manner.”

Rosenberger has treated patients age 8 to 80, male and female.

“The stereotype is 30- to 50-year-old women, but I also see and treat a lot of men,” she said. “The most common procedure I perform is treatment of face veins and redness for people with rosacea. Rosacea is a very common problem. The redness is very embarrassing and socially distressing. I treat a lot of businessmen and women who professionally are concerned about their appearance. The treatments can make a huge impact on their self-esteem.”

During the procedure, the laser targets something specific in the skin like a brown pigment for laser hair removal and lightening age spots and blood for birthmarks, acne scarring, scars, rosacea, face veins and spider veins, Rosenberger said. The laser light hits the target, and energy is created. That energy causes destruction of the target without damaging the surrounding skin.

Treatments are usually scheduled for 20 minutes and do hurt a bit, she said. She calls it like a “rubberband snap.” It goes fast and doesn’t tend to hurt when it’s done.

“People usually tolerate it really well,” Rosenberger said. “It’s uncomfortable, but not unbearable.”

Rosenberger stressed it is important to research the doctor’s office or spa and research the physician’s credentials before allowing someone to perform these procedures. She said there’s been a trend in untrained personnel performing dermatologist procedures, including BOTOX injections, Restylane and Collagen injections, microdermabrasion, chemical peels and laser procedures. She added only board-certified dermatologists and plastic surgeons receive adequate training in these procedures during residency.

“In the right hands, lasers are a safe and effective way to treat things for which we previously had to use more invasive treatments,” she said. “There have been many cases of significant scarring and even deaths associated with these procedures in the wrong hands.”

People have some misconceptions about laser treatment, Rosenberger said. One is that anyone who performs these procedures has the skill and training to perform them. Second, that insurance will pay for these procedures, when in fact most of these procedures are considered cosmetic and are paid for up front. Third, that lasers can do everything, but some things like treating and removing moles cannot, in most cases, be done with lasers.

At Rosenberger’s practice, they treat skin cancer, acne, rosacea, many medical conditions; and they use a laser for some of the medical conditions as well as for cosmetic purposes. They offer many cosmetic procedures including BOTOX, Restylane and other fillers, and chemical peels. They also focus on a healthy and effective topical skin care regimen. The price of the cosmetic procedures generally range between $150-250 per treatment.

There’s different reasons people decide to get treatments. For many, it is cosmetic, social or just a time saver.

“We all do things for ourselves everyday to make ourselves look better,” Rosenberger said. “Everybody combs their hair, puts their make-up on, women get their hair done, and nobody is embarrassed. Nobody thinks it’s vain to paint your nails or put make-up on or for men to comb their hair. And so it is part of taking good care of yourself. A lot of times, the cost issue, people say, ‘That’s really expensive.’ But some women are spending hours a day covering their face and tons of make-up trying to cover it. ... When they could just get it taken care of.”

For more information, go to www.wvderm.com or call 368-0111.

E-mail Jennifer Roush at jroush@timeswv.com.