Fractionation: a new era in laser resurfacing.

Fractional photothermolysis combines the benefits of fully ablative lasers with significantly reduced downtime and fewer complications. Skin is treated in a fractional manner, with narrow cylinders of tissue being thermally heated and normal adjacent skin left unaffected, and the fractional devices have shown effectiveness in treating a variety of conditions, especially scarring and photodamage. There are many devices that use fractional photothermolysis, and practitioners are becoming more adept at using optimal parameters to induce near CO(2) laser benefits. Fractionated lasers have become the cornerstone of a minimally invasive treatment regimen and have ushered in a new era of laser skin rejuvenation.