The Beauty of Light

Created on 03rd August 2008

Dr Max Murison, consultant plastic surgeon, talks to Olivia Young about the many advantages of Lumenis' revolutionary new Bridge Therapy

We all want clear, youthful skin but many of us are put off by the prospect of embarking on treatments that will have a major impact on our busy lives. A new laser treatment promises positive results combined with minimal downtime.

Bridge Therapy is a new technique from Lumenis which uses the latest CO2 lasers; they employ a high energy beam of light to smooth out lines, wrinkles and scars, remove brown spots and other irregularities and tighten skin. It can also stimulate the formation of new, underlying collagen so the skin improvement continues over time.

With fractional laser treatment, only a fraction of the skin's surface is treated by the laser, leaving small ‘bridges' of untouched skin. This technique makes the healing process much faster and enables patients to get back to normal activities sooner.

"The innovation of Bridge Therapy in aesthetic treatments means drastically reduced downtime for patients. It is relatively pain free and has a very high satisfaction rate amongst patients," says Max Murison, consultant plastic surgeon, Morriston Hospital, Swansea and the Swansea Laser Clinic.

The first commercially available treatment is ActiveFX which performs full face resurfacing in approximately twenty minutes - resurfacing and treating lines, wrinkles, sagging skin and all the other effects of ageing. Recovery time is as little as four days and results are impressive.

The lasers fire light energy in very narrow, scanned beams. This results in tiny columns of controlled thermal treatment penetrating down into the dermis. The thermal energy is used to smooth out lines, wrinkles and scars, remove brown spots and other irregularities, and tighten skin.

It is ideal for people who have a busy lifestyle or cannot be away from normal activities for a long time, want noticeable results with minimal downtime and want to treat dyschromia (pigmentation), fine lines, wrinkles and skin laxity. After this treatment, patients will notice immediate skin tightening, wrinkles and fine lines are reduced, frown lines are made shallower and skin tone and texture are improved, also new collagen is formed by being stimulated, which plumps up the skin and therefore skin is left looking healthy and youthful looking. The great news is that the results can be long term. Some are visible immediately, whereas others - such as new collagen production - build up gradually and become more evident over time. By using proper sun protection many of the results could last for years.

Max Murison has been using laser treatment for the last ten years. Initially, it was a hospitalbased treatment which involved a general anaesthetic and an overnight stay. But in the last ten years it has been utterly transformed. With Lumenis' new breakthrough ActiveFX treatment, most physicians perform the treatment in the office after smoothing a topical anaesthetic onto the skin 30 to 40 minutes beforehand. No injections, no general anaesthetic and, even better, minimal downtime. Most patients are even able to drive home afterwards. Max Murison continues, "Doctors can now offer treatment on a Thursday, with most patients going back to work on Monday with no one knowing they've had anything done, other than the obvious improvement."
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CASE STUDY

Name: Anupa Panjabi
Age: 35
Treatments: Active FX to treat acne scarring

My acne started in my late teens - at eighteen or nineteen - and was quite severe. Through my twenties I saw many dermatologists and tried antibiotics and prescribed face washes but with no improvement. The acne did eventually clear up by using RetinA topical cream combined with a relatively high dose of RoAccutane. The side effects were very strong but I was prepared to do anything to clear my skin.

For a while I was happy with the results but then I started to get very conscious of the deep scarring left by the acne. I tried microdermabrasions and a different laser treatment but had very mixed results.

I heard about Active FX and met a couple of people who had already had it done. It looked promising and I had a consultation with Mr Max Murison. He discussed it thoroughly with me and explained that nothing can totally eradicate acne scarring but he thought he could make a positive improvement. I was quite reassured and knew I would be in good hands, so there I went again, trying one more procedure on my face.

ActiveFX treatment is said to continue to work for six months and you continue to see improvements. I have to say this is true. I am happy to see the changes on my face - the scars are about 50 per cent faded, my skin tone is even with no more discoloration or patchy areas and it is much smoother. I have had many compliments and positive comments from friends and family since then.

I definitely feel a lot more confident and dare not to wear any make-up sometimes, and when I do get my make-up on, I feel much prettier now.