|
|
Restore Your Skin's Youthful Appearance with Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). IPL is used to restore your skin's youthful apperance. The photo rejuvenation process represents a breakthrough in age defying skin care by treating skin damage noninvasively. An IPL treatment addresses the effects of photo aging and sun damage such as age spots, sun-induced freckles and symptoms of rosacea.
|
 |
 |
Intense Pulsed Light addresses the redness and rough textures in scars as well as the diffused redness of the skin caused by broken capillaries.
Physicians often create combined treatment programs of IPL and BOTOX, giving patients near term, tangible results.
|
|
Dr. Welch currently uses the latest IPL treatment called Palomar Starlux Pulsed Light Therapy. They only use the "Y" and "G" treatments. Click on picture below for more INFO:
Intense Pulsed LightTM (IPL) skin treatments using the photorejuvenation process represent a breakthrough in age-defying skin care. This new technique treats skin damage non-invasively — there is no disruption of the skin's epidermal surface. IPL treatments address the effects of photoaging and sun damage with low risk of complications and no recovery time.
IPL is the gold standard for photorejuvenation. This FDA-cleared, patented technology provides dramatic results for a variety of benign conditions, including age spots, sun-induced freckles, symptoms of rosacea, birthmarks, unsightly veins, acne scarring and other blemishes — even unwanted hair.
Why choose IPL over other treatment options? Laser resurfacing and deep chemical peels often send patients into hiding, as they wait for redness and swelling to subside. Microdermabrasion addresses skin irregularities, but is not effective against all complexion problems including redness, flushing and broken capillaries. Face lifts and other surgical procedures are far too invasive for younger patients and "baby boomers" who simply want to revitalize their skin. |
 |
|
Poikiloderma
|
|
 |
|
Broken Capillaries
|
|
 |
|
Facial Telangiectasia
|
|
 |
|
Vascular and Pigmented Skin Damage
|
The mechanism of pigmented lesion removal is based upon selective destruction of melanocytes and melanosome-containing epidermal keratinocytes. The lesion darkens and crusts after treatment, and is naturally sloughed off the skin within two weeks.
The Science of Light: IPLTM Helps Restore the Skin's Youthful Glow
There are an overwhelming number of options available to improve the skin's appearance, from creams and peels to microdermabrasion and laser treatments. Can any of these procedures provide significant improvement without interrupting daily routines?
IPL Skin Treatments using Photorejuvenation offers a solution that:
- Addresses skin conditions that are most visible
- Treats the entire face, not only small spots
- Causes little discomfort
- Offers an immediate return to routine activities
- Provides gradual, natural-looking improvement
- Produces long-lasting results
Photorejuvenation with IPL is the most versatile of all treatment options. Patients often schedule appointments during their lunch hours. IPL can treat numerous skin conditions at once. It is effective on red blemishes that originate from blood vessels, as well as brown pigment blemishes in the form of freckles, age spots and other sun damage. IPL also treats the neck, chest and hands, where sun damage is often most visible.
Getting Started
Practitioners determine an IPL treatment plan for each new patient, accounting for the number and severity of skin conditions being treated, as well as skin type. On average, four to six treatments are recommended, scheduled at three-week intervals. Each session usually lasts about 20 minutes, with patients returning to normal activity immediately afterwards. IPL treatments provide gradual, natural improvement with excellent long-term results.
What to Expect
Before treatment, a cold gel is usually applied to the areas to be treated and patients wear protective eyewear. During treatment, a physician or trained staff member gently applies the smooth, glass surface of the IPL handpiece to the skin. Light is delivered to the skin surface in precise pulses that are typically pain-free. Occasionally some signs of treatment, such as redness, can last for one or two hours. In most cases, the entire face is treated, but the therapy can also work well on the neck, chest and hands. Results from a full series of treatments usually last for a year or more.
 IPL treats the damaged superficial layer of the skin, while delivering thermal energy to deeper tissue. Clinical studies are now underway to quantify the effect this energy has on collagen production, which helps firm and tighten the skin. Some providers may refer to Photorejuvenation with IPL under other commercial names such as FotoFacial™, EpiFacial or others. Prospective patients should verify that they will be treated with IPL technology patented by LumenisTM.
The appearance of sun-damaged skin is well recognized and is different from changes seen with normal chronological aging. The very smooth, fine, pale wrinkling associated with aging seen in the sun-protected areas of the skin such as the buttocks are different from those of sun damage.
Fine and coarse wrinkles are seen on sun-damaged skin. There is a roughness to the skin and a laxity or looseness in advanced damage. Patchy or mottled darker patches of increased pigmentation are seen. Sometimes these patches become irregular and produce what are known as lentigos. In areas around the back of the neck a leathery texture and coarseness with deep lines is frequently seen. The skin may feel dry and scaly. Chronic sun exposure will in many produce a thickened layer in the upper dermis known as solar elastosis, which gives a yellowish chicken-skin look.
Some individuals will develop more blood vessels, known as telangiectasias or broken blood vessels. If damage is severe, thinning of the skin and bruising may be seen particularly on the hands and forearms.
The most common indication of chronic sun exposure most often seen in fair-skinned individuals is actinic or solar keratosis. These are usually small, reddish or reddish brown, rough areas on the skin with a hard surface. Sometimes the smaller lesions can be felt more easily than they can be seen. As they progress they often develop a thick, rough whitish scale. This is seen most commonly on the face, ears, bald scalp, and on the backs of the hands. The lower legs of women are also risk areas.
are the most common of skin cancers, which again are associated with chronic sun exposure. They are also more common at sites of burns, scars and those with a history o of arsenic ingestion. These are most often raised, skin-coloured bumps (papules). These may have a pearly appearance. They sometimes have telangiectasias (small blood vessels) over them. There is often a history of easy bleeding from the area. On the trunk or limbs basal cell cancers can look like persistent well-defined, reddish, slightly scaly patches resembling psoriasis. They usually remain unchanged for many years if untreated and slowly grow. Other basal cell carcinomas can be slightly pigmented and the least common is the appearance of a scar-like lesion that appears on the face without history of trauma. These are known as a morphea or fibrotic basal cell carcinoma. Most basal cell cancers occur on the face and neck. They are uncommon one the back of the hands, forearms, palms, soles and scalp. There are three rare genetic disorders that are associated with BCC.
is second most common type of skin cancer. There is an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma developing from actinic keratosis (described above). This type of skin cancer can be aggressive at times, particularly those arising from the lips (actinic chielitis).
These usually arise from skin that is clearly sun-damaged. Squamous cell cancers are most often red and scaly lesions. Occasionally these can present as ulcers or raised warty growths. They normally have a depth or thickness to them, which means that the surface or epidermis grows thicker and downwards into the dermis. There is often a low-grade inflammation that is the reaction from the immune system. It is rare to see these cancers arising from normal looking skin. Sundamage is clearly the biggest risk although scars, physical burns and stasis ulcers, which are chronic, are also a risk.
is the most threatening skin cancer. Most of the time, these cancers appear intensely pigmented. Dark brown or black lesions should be looked upon with suspicion and should be checked by a physician. The bigger lesions are more suspicious (over 6mm) but these cancers are best detected when they are very small. The best clue is the intense, dark pigmentation. Irregular pigmentation within the lesion as well as irregular boarders is also of concern. Early detection and treatment of a melanoma is important as melanomas can be fast growing. About one half of them arise from moles while the other half will develop from normal looking skin.
|
|
