title: The histologic evaluation of pulsed carbon dioxide laser resurfacing versus phenol chemical peels in vivo.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers and phenol chemical peels have been used extensively for facial skin resurfacing.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study is to compare the histologic effects of phenol chemical peels and CO2 laser ablations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Local preauricular areas were treated with lasers on one side of the face and a phenol peel on the other. One day after the procedures, the affected areas were biopsied for histologic evaluation. The areas were biopsied again after 3 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The initial biopsies demonstrated that the CO2 lasers ablate more superficial skin than the peels, but the 3-month biopsy specimens showed that the zone of new collagen formation was thicker as a result of the phenol peels.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With the parameters used in this study, phenol peels resulted in the formation of a thicker zone of collagen despite the deeper ablation depth of the laser.
authors.affiliation: Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, USA.
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Moy
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kotler
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lesser
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D002615:Chemexfoliation; D003869:Dermabrasion / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D019800:Phenol; D012867:Skin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019800:Phenol