Laser skin resurfacing: a comparison study of erbium:YAG and CO2 and an overview of recently introduced and future approaches

To evaluate the efficacy of an erbium laser for treating photo-damaged skin, we compared an erbium and pulsed CO₂ laser in a side by side trial in 21 patients. We examined gross and microscopic changes in patients immediately after treatment as well as 1, 2, 8, and 24 weeks postoperatively. Grossly, we followed erythema, swelling, time for re-epithelialization, and wrinkle improvement. Microscopically, we examined depth of ablation and thermal damage on day 0, depth of necrosis on day 2, and thickness of the fibroplasia zone at 6 months. Our study showed that similar cosmetic results could be achieved by erbium and CO₂ lasers; however, the gross and microscopic findings suggest a different cascade of microscopic events from injury to the final zone of fibroplasia