Below are some of the most frequently asked questions patients have about plastic surgury issues.  If you have any other questions, or would like to schedule an appointment, we would love to hear from you.

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A: After 1-2 hours Levulan will be activated with IPL, laser or Blu-U.  You may be given an anesthetic topical cream applied prior to the light exposure.   You will be given special goggles to wear to protect your eyes during the treatment.   During the treatment you may feel stinging, tingling, prickling, or burning of the lesions, but this should go away after the treatment. 
A: Patients don't mind the temporary discomfort and redness or the peeling because they see the improvement in their skin and in their lives very quickly. Is PDT the cure? No. There is no "cure" for acne, but there is control. Levulan-PhotoDynamic Therapy offers acne sufferers the improvement needed to improve their quality of life!
A: The BLU-U treatment is very safe. The blue-violet light penetrates just deep enough into the tissue to reach the acne target. It only affects the P. acnes bacteria, not the normal tissue. Even though there is no evidence of complications, we will not perform this treatment if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
A: The face should be cleansed with soap and water and free of any oil. Ladies need to be make-up free during the treatment. Make-up may be re-applied immediately after the treatment. We will provide a skin preparation pad to further cleanse oils from the skin. We may recommend a skin exfoliation product to further enhance the photodynamic therapy.
A: Light pulses are delivered through the skin's surface, targeting an organic compound generated by the Propionibacterium acnes (p. acne) bacteria called porphyrin. These porphyrins are photosensitive and when targeted by light, generate singlet oxygen, which kill the p. acne bacteria that cause inflammation.
A: Treatment times will vary depending on the size of the treatment area, though a full face will frequently take about 20 minutes.
A: Our doctor frequently starts with a four treatment course, two per week for two weeks. More treatments may be needed for those with more severe acne.
A: Clinical data suggests that most patients find their acne improves after two weeks of twice weekly treatments. While many patients continue to improve over the months following treatment, some patients experience a plateau in their improvement. Repeated treatments may be necessary to maintain results.
A: Immediately following the procedure patients may experience mild to moderate redness and swelling that will fade in as little as a couple hours to as much as a few days.