Can one be “too old” to have a laser treatment?

Dr. Irwin
August 11, 2014
I am a white male, 80 years old. I have large facial skin pores, especially in the nose, with the appearance of 'white heads' (and some black) in many facial areas. I would dearly love to have laser treatment(s) that would permanently reduce the size of the facial pores. Is it possible to do so with laser treatments, at my age? Thanks! Gene C.

No – not really – in fact laser options are often good ones from 70-90 because they usually don’t involve any general anesthesia, which is the real risk from plastic surgeries after a certain age.

At 80, you will heal a little more slowly and we always follow our patients post procedure closely.  It pays to be realistic though as well, because at 80, you have much more repair to to than someone at age …say….40.  Makes sense though, and usually more treatments will be needed to get a good result.  Stick with the fractionated lasers like the Fraxel or the CO2 DEKA DOT, for example because infection risks and other complications are lower.

More info on the Fraxel and remember that facial pore size is hard to treat on anyone.  Another good option for this type of problem is a series of 4-6 microdermabrasions.

These products may also be helpful –  the first helps to clean out pores  with a cleanser, the second helps to prevent the pores from plugging,  and the third is a type of cleansing ultrasonic brush.

Hope this helps,  Dr. I

 

 

 

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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