Fraxel Laser Resurfacing

Until today, most lasers treated the skin with high power levels and macroscopic spot sizes. The problem with this approach is that healthy tissue is often damaged along with the skin that is being treated. In addition, there was no overriding technological intelligence for controlling the amount of thermal injury that the skin receives.

Reliant's approach is based upon the evolving science of Fractional Photothermolysis. This has been developed by Drs. Rox Anderson and Dieter Manstein of Harvard's Wellman Laboratories in collaboration with Dr. Scott Herron and Len DeBenedictis, of Reliant Technologies.

Treating the skin fractionally with patterns of microscopic laser spots, each of which is 70-100 microns in diameter, results in a unique wound healing process. This is aided by the fact that each laser spot (known as a MicroThermal Zone, or MTZ) is surrounded by healthy tissue. Many of the stem cells and melanocytes in the papillary dermis are spared. Fractional wound healing results in both rapid reepitheliazation of the epidermis as well as collagen remodeling to depths of 400-700 microns.

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As seen under a microscope, Reliant's Fraxel® SR laser produces hundreds of microthermal zones as shown in this skin sample. The MTZ's are not visible to the naked eye.

Click here to download Clinical Publications about the Fraxel Laser.