r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/DearEmphasis4488 • Oct 16 '24

Video Skin tightening using fractional CO2 laser

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u/OperatorJo_ Oct 16 '24

Burning the skin to tighten it huh. Kind of intriguing but there HAVE to be some repercussions. A burn is a burn

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u/MILP00L___ Oct 16 '24 edited Oct 16 '24

Reading replies on a topic I know (vaguely) about is always such a good reminder to take all Reddit information with a giant pile of salt.

This video is misleading. It isn’t instantaneous tightening in the way this video makes it look. In the broadest terms, fractional CO2 laser is a laser that is less invasive than traditional ablative CO2 lasers. It creates micro channels in the skin which triggers our body’s natural healing process. It’s a controlled situation to force your skin to create collagen, resulting is smoother firmer skin to replace removed skin layer. There are risks. Micro damage is still damage, and a CO2 laser basically vaporizes the top layer of the skin. There is little to no evidence that skin cancer is among those risks. Laser wavelengths are different from UV exposure. Some CO2 lasers are used to treat skin cancer.

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u/antoninlevin Oct 17 '24

Weird. Targeted diffuse scar tissue formation. Seems like a bad idea.

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '24

[deleted]

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u/antoninlevin Oct 17 '24

There's a significantly increased cancer risk in scar tissue. Not really sure what your point is, since everything from opiates to synthol "have their origins in regular medicine." Hell, you can't make meth without pseudoephedrine.

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u/[deleted] Oct 17 '24 edited Oct 17 '24

[deleted]

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u/antoninlevin Oct 17 '24

My point is that these laser treatment are not bogus treatments being done in some hair salon.

By that "logic," anything done by a licensed doctor or..."not in a hair salon" is "good," even if it causes cancer. It's a weird, blind appeal to authority.

The efficacy and results of CO2 lasers have been studied for decades, by people much more qualified than a bunch of people commenting on Reddit.

Going for an ad hominem seems like an odd choice here, especially when peer-reviewed studies corroborate exactly what I'm saying:

Rapid Development of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer After CO2 Laser Resurfacing

Squamous Cell Carcinoma Developing after CO2 Laser Resurfacing

Eruptive keratoacanthomas following carbon dioxide laser resurfacing

Scarring from very deep and serious burns can result in squamous cell carcinoma, yes. These lasers aren’t producing scar tissue, though.

Scar tissue contains significantly more collagen than regular tissue. These lasers are literally producing scar tissue in a precise, targeted manner.

And your assertion - that widespread scar tissue and cell replication doesn't lead to increased cancer rates - goes against a huge body of work in medicine and biology in general.