Dermabrasion is a skin resurfacing procedure used since the 1940s that can provide dramatic improvement to lines and wrinkles, skin pigmentation, pock marks, acne scars, and traumatic scars.  By removing the top layers of skin, an injury is created to the papillary dermis (a layer of the skin where collagen is located) and decades of sun and age damage are removed.  In the healing process, new skin is formed that has a higher collagen content and is free of the lesions, pigment, and poor tone that characterizes aged skin.  The skin becomes thicker, thus filling in areas of wrinkling or depression. 

What can be treated with Dermabrasion?

• Wrinkles around the mouth ("lipstick lines")
• Wrinkles around the eyes ("Crow's feet")
• Fine lines and wrinkles on the cheeks 
• To help improve the appearance of a traumatic scar
• Acne scarring or pock marks
• To remove pigmented lesions and improve skin tone

General Procedure

Dermabrasion can be done alone under local anesthetic in the office or in the operating room under sedation with other procedures.  Dermabrasion is performed using a rotating diamond burr to sharply and precisely remove layers of damaged skin and stimulate collagen growth. 

Recovery

Patients typically feel a stinging sensation in the dermabraded areas.  This pain is easily controlled with oral pain medication.  As the top layers of skin have been removed, the skin underneath will appear raw.  A protective gel dressing that helps the formation of new healthier skin is applied immediately following the procedure.  This dressing is changed on the first post-operative visit and is then removed two days following the operation.  In 7-10 days, new skin covers the dermabraded areas.  The new skin will be slightly pink but cover-up makeup easily camouflages this appearance.  The pink color fades over the next 4-6 weeks.  As time goes on, the benefit of dermabrasion becomes more and more apparent as the body lays down new collagen filling in wrinkles and scars.  Additional improvement can even be seen up to a year following the procedure.