Mixto is a form of fractional CO2 laser. According to the company information site, www.laseringusa.com , Mixto SX is named for the “mixture” or “mix” of CO2 energy and fractional resurfacing. The SX stands for surgical, since the laser can be utilized to make surgical cuts with little or no bleeding.
The standard CO2 laser is very effective for deep wrinkles and pigmentation of the facial skin. Imagine a person between 50-60 years of age, who has spent majority of their time in sun light. May be they smoke as well. Imagine that thick, leathery skin with deep lines, even when the person is not talking or smiling or raising their eyebrows. That patient’s skin can only be noticeably improved with standard CO2 resurfacing.
Such resurfacing requires general anesthesia or intravenous sedation, thus increasing the cost and risk of procedure. The patient will have “raw” skin for 7-10 days. The skin may be red or have areas of light or dark pigmentation for months.
For patients who have finer lines and spotty pigmentation of their skin, the fractional laser is a good option.
Fractional resurfacing “skips” areas of skin with each laser zap. Therefore, each zap results in areas of normal skin mixed with areas of treated skin. This results in faster recovery (typically 3-5 days of redness and swelling), less risk of long lasting redness or hyper-pigmentation of the skin, and no need for general anesthesia.
The Mixto laser is a newer generation of fractional lasers. With this laser, one or two treatments are necessary to obtain the desired result, versus 3-5 treatments for the Fraxel laser. The treatments are spaced 3-6 months apart, depending on patient healing.
I have attached a before and after photo to illustrate the effectiveness of the procedure.
Michael A. Jazayeri, M.D. is a board certified plastic surgeon in Santa Ana. His office is located centrally in Orange County, in the city of Santa Ana. To schedule a complimentary consultation, please call (714) 834-0101.