True MD Adds New Fractional Laser to Battery of Anti-Aging Treatments

June 11, 2009 - True MD, a medical spa in Lakeland, Florida, announced that it will officially begin fractional laser treatments in late May 2009, complementing its other non-surgical approaches to skin damage and blemishes. By adopting light- and heat-based anti-aging technologies like Thermage, intense pulsed light (IPL), and now fractional lasers, True MD (www.true-md.com) is joining a larger medical trend away from invasive surgical procedures and toward medical treatments that work with the natural processes of the body.

Fractional lasers are the latest evolutionary stage in laser skin resurfacing, offering the best blend of effective treatment and safety, according to Aesthetic Buyers Guide. The journal's Fractional Market Study projects continued expansion of this new technology, even in recession-tightened times. Dr. Adam Parker, D.O., of True MD believes that this steady growth results from the procedure's effectiveness and its short recovery time.

"People can't afford to take off work, anymore, for a couple of days of healing, and they can't afford to pay for a skin procedure that's not going to produce a significant change-but there's still a legitimate demand for clearing scars, stretch marks, and other blemishes that hinder people's business and social lives," he said.

Most light and heat based skin treatments attempt, in different ways, to stimulate the skin's natural collagen production and rebuild the skin from the inside out, but different procedures reach different depths of the damaged skin and pose different levels of risk. True MD has offered Intense Pulsed Light treatments for surface skin problems and Thermage for the deepest levels of the skin, but now the Lakeland medical spa is offering the most cutting-edge treatment for mid-range skin problems such as excessive pigmentation, scarring, and melasma.

Like in earlier non-ablative (low heat) laser treatments, fractional laser light passes through the upper layers of the skin, leaving it relatively undamaged. It then concentrates its energy on the deeper layers of the skin to coagulate areas of damaged tissue and provoke the surrounding tissue to grow new, healthy skin. However, fractional lasers split the laser beam into a grid of pixel-like dots to focus more intense treatment on 12-20% of the skin's surface area. It is therefore more effective than older non-ablative laser treatments.

Because the outer skin is passed through and not punctured by the laser, though, the fractional laser negates any chance of infection. As the new skin grows in the deeper layers, the coagulated tissue is gradually and naturally pushed to the surface, along with the unwanted scar tissue, pigment, and old skin cells. The procedure requires virtually no recovery time and takes effect over several weeks.

"After studying the technology and taking it on a trial run, we concluded that this is one of the technologies of the future," said Dr. Parker. "And because it's so medically sound and effective, it fits our mission at True MD to offer the best medical treatment possible in an aesthetic spa atmosphere."