Fractional CO2 laser (Pixel®) The first thing that draws the attention of a person to estimate how “old one is” is one’s face. The tell tale signs of lines, wrinkles, downward drooping of facial features are unavoidable. Although surgery can help reposition aging tissue into the correct, youthful position and contour, it cannot rejuvenation the skin to the young, healthy glow you once had. Rejuvenation of the aging face therefore needs to be addressed in a two-fold fashion; returning both the facial structures and the facial skin to a natural, youthful appearance. Dr. Liu is the consummate facial plastic surgeon; not only is he a specialist in facial surgery, he is always on the cutting edge of laser technologies designed to treat aging skin. His specialized training and experience make him an expert on treating both aspects of the aging face. He was the 1st surgeon in the Torrance/South Bay area with the revolutionary SmartLipo technology, and now he the first & only surgeon to offer the ground breaking fractionated CO2 laser skin treatment in the Torrance/South Bay area. The traditional benchmark that all treatments for wrinkling and skin damage are measured against has been the CO2 laser. Due to its ability to heat-vaporize the outermost layers of skin across a large surface area it gives your skin a tremendously more youthful and smoother appearance. However, which such great results comes a great deal of recovery; often times for weeks patients do not feel comfortable meeting other people in a social atmosphere. Additionally, patients needed to undergo anesthesia in a surgical center because of the intensity of the treatment. Thanks to new revolutionary technology, Dr. Liu now offers the new gold standard for treatment of wrinkles, age spots, and acne scarring; the fractionated CO2 laser. The fractional scientific approach utilizes the body's natural healing response in a unique way. Instead of blasting away entire portions of skin, the new technology allows the laser to lay down rows of tiny, microscopic laser wounds, evenly spaced across the skin, leaving areas of untreated skin between them. The surface of treated skin now contains only tiny pixilated surface wounds, instead of one large, red, oozing burn. This breakthrough in science and technology allow patients to take advantage of the incredible results from traditional CO2 laser resurfacing while greatly minimizing the risks of developing hypo or hyperpigmentation and scarring from traditional CO2 lasers. Compared to the older CO2 lasers, downtime is only a few days, not a few weeks. Within a week there is minimal evidence of having undergone the procedure outside of having new, tighter, fresh skin that continues to improve over the next several months. The inherent risks and potential complications of the CO2 laser are minimized with the fractional delivery, while still offering lifetime results with one treatment. This procedure can be performed in the office with simple topical anesthesia in about 30 minutes. Dr. Liu understands that the best long-term results from laser resurfacing require more than just laser treatment. That is why he has a specialized skin care plan that will adequately prepare the skin for the laser procedure, take care of the skin during the healing phase, and maintain the tremendous gains achieved from the procedure for life-long beautiful skin.