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AcuPulse is a fractional carbon dioxide laser, the most powerful resurfacing tool in the clinic. It vaporises columns of damaged skin and heats the tissue around them, and the healing that follows produces the largest single-session improvement available in deep wrinkles, sun damage and scars, at the cost of a week of recovery. At Rejuvenation Dermatology Calgary South, Dr. Paul Kuzel, a board-certified dermatologist, decides who it suits and performs every treatment himself.
Carbon dioxide laser at 10,600 nm is absorbed by the water in skin. Delivered in a fraction of a second at high power, it removes tissue cleanly and leaves a zone of heat that contracts collagen. The fractional pattern spares skin between the columns so it heals from within.
CO2 sits at the top of the resurfacing ladder. Every rung below it trades result for recovery.
Largest change in one session, with a week of healing and up to a month of pinkness. Tightens as well as resurfaces. For deep wrinkles, marked sun damage and deep scars.
Removes skin with less heat, so it heals faster and carries less pigmentation risk but tightens less. Chosen for lighter resurfacing and for skin that pigments easily.
Fotona DynamisHeats without removing skin. Three to five days of bronzing, a course of sessions, a smaller result each time. For moderate damage and patients who cannot take a week off.
FraxelCO2 does not lift heavy jowls or excise deep ice-pick scars. Where those are the problem, surgical excision, subcision or a surgeon come first and CO2 follows.
Scar revisionCO2 resurfacing is a real procedure. Chosen well it produces the best result in the clinic; chosen badly it produces scarring, pigment change or a result that was never worth the recovery.
AcuPulse is used on the face, neck, chest and hands for resurfacing, and anywhere on the body for lesion removal and scars.
Lines around the mouth and eyes that filler and neuromodulator cannot smooth. The strongest indication for CO2.
Fine lines and wrinklesBoxcar and rolling scars, usually after subcision for tethered scars. One or two sessions.
Acne scarringMarked photoageing of the face, neck and chest, with precancerous actinic keratoses cleared in the same pass.
Sun damageThick, tight or contracted scars soften and flatten over a course. Best started once the scar has matured.
Scar revisionMoles, skin tags, seborrhoeic keratoses, xanthelasma and warts vaporised with minimal scarring. Anything that could be a cancer is excised instead.
CO2 laser lesion removalFine crepe of the lower eyelids and vertical lip lines, where thin skin makes a controlled shallow pass the safest option.
A full-face CO2 resurfacing takes about two hours including anaesthesia. It is booked after consultation, with preparation beforehand.
CO2 resurfacing has the longest recovery of any treatment on this site. Plan for a week at home and a month of visible pinkness.
No referral is needed for cosmetic resurfacing. Assessment of sun damage and precancer is covered by Alberta Health Care with a referral; resurfacing is not. AcuPulse is priced by area and mode, and quoted at consultation.
Referrals by fax to (403) 225-2914. Call (403) 286-6888 for current pricing.
The skin that emerges after a week is smoother, more even in colour and visibly tighter than before. Wrinkles are softened, sun spots and precancer are gone, and scars are flatter. The result improves for three to six months as collagen remodels, and is assessed at three months. For most patients one session is enough; deep scars and severe damage may need a second a year later.
The result lasts years. The skin continues to age, but from a better starting point, and is maintained with sun protection and lighter treatments such as Clear + Brilliant.
CO2 does not lift a heavy jowl or neck, does not replace filler for volume loss, and does not remove every wrinkle. It is the largest change a laser can make, and Dr. Kuzel says at consultation how large that is likely to be for you.
AcuPulse is priced by area and mode and quoted at consultation. Call (403) 286-6888 for current pricing.
A week of healing at home, with raw skin under ointment for the first three days and peeling for the rest of the week. Then a month of pinkness that makeup covers from about day ten. Plan for seven to ten days off work.
The procedure is performed under topical anaesthetic and nerve blocks, with oral sedation for full-face treatment. Most patients feel heat and pressure rather than pain. The first two days afterward feel like a bad sunburn and are managed with soaks, ointment and simple pain relief.
One, for most patients. Deep scars and severe sun damage may need a second session a year later.
CO2 carries the highest pigmentation risk of any laser in darker skin. Dr. Kuzel uses conservative fractional settings with prescription preparation in some patients, and recommends erbium or non-ablative treatment for others. This is decided at consultation.
CO2 for deep wrinkles, deep scars and severe sun damage in a patient who can take a week off. Fraxel for moderate damage in a patient who cannot, spread over a course with short downtime each time.
CO2 heats more, so it tightens more and heals more slowly. Erbium removes skin with less heat, heals faster and is safer in skin that pigments easily, but tightens less. Dr. Kuzel chooses by the damage and the skin.
It will flatten and soften them, often substantially. Scars do not disappear. Tethered scars need subcision first; ice-pick scars need punch excision first; then CO2 improves the surface.
Years. The skin continues to age from a better starting point, and the result is maintained with sun protection and lighter treatments.
Dr. Paul Kuzel, MD FRCPC, a board-certified dermatologist and the founder and Medical Director of Rejuvenation Dermatology Calgary South, assesses every patient and performs every CO2 treatment personally. He sees patients in English and Czech.
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Book a consultation with Dr. Kuzel. No referral is needed for cosmetic treatment.
Rejuvenation Dermatology Calgary South
10201 Southport Rd SW #102
Calgary, AB T2W 4X9
Two blocks west of the Delta Hotel
(403) 286-6888
Referrals by fax: (403) 225-2914
Open seven days a week, with early mornings and evenings on weekdays.
Take the first step toward achieving healthy, radiant, and flawless skin. Contact Rejuvenation Medical Aesthetics today to schedule your personalized consultation and explore the advanced treatments tailored to your unique needs.
