Dr Sami Moubayed is an otolaryngologist – head and neck surgeon practicing facial plastic surgery, and has been for about ten years. When the clinic chose its first laser, it chose the VBeam. The reason is simple: this laser goes hand in hand with a facial surgery practice. Here is what he explains in his capsule.
A laser that targets the colour red
The VBeam is a pulsed dye laser. Its target is hemoglobin, the molecule that gives blood its red colour and, by extension, gives red areas of the skin their colour. In other words, the VBeam works on the vascular component: the small vessels that make an area look red or pink.
That is what makes it useful in several very different situations, whenever the redness comes from blood vessels rather than from brown pigment. A brown spot or pigment problem calls for other approaches; the VBeam is specifically about red.
Why a new scar looks red
After surgery, a scar is highly vascular for the first few months. Small vessels grow into the scar to nourish it and help it heal well. This is a normal process, but those same small vessels are what make the scar look red.
That is why, since Dr Moubayed started at Clinique Face MD in 2019, the VBeam laser has been an integral part of follow-up for surgical patients with visible scars on the face. For example:
- scars on the upper or lower eyelids after blepharoplasty;
- scars from a facelift or a neck lift;
- scars from a lip lift or an alar base reduction;
- scars from a direct brow lift.
For these red, visible scars, Dr Moubayed considers one VBeam session to be the minimum. Some patients receive two or three, depending on how the scar evolves, with the aim of making it less red as quickly as possible. The number of sessions is decided case by case during follow-up. For patients, this means the scar care does not stop at the end of surgery: it continues during the months when the scar is still maturing and most visible.
Rosacea and scars after an injury
The VBeam is also particularly well suited to treating the red, vascular component of rosacea. At the clinic, it is used for patients with rosacea who want to reduce their redness.
It is also used for people with a traumatic scar: someone who was injured and is left with a red mark, or who has an event coming up and wants to reduce the redness of a recent scar. Here again, it is the redness from the vessels that is targeted.
Red birthmarks: port-wine stains
Less often, some patients are born with a vascular malformation of the skin, such as a port-wine stain. The VBeam laser can also be used for these patients to reduce the appearance of these birthmarks. The goal is to lighten them, not erase them: the response varies from person to person and several sessions may be needed.
Which skin types?
The VBeam is normally used on lighter skin. For darker skin, there are other options, such as a YAG laser. As Dr Moubayed puts it, the idea is to have options for every skin type, and to choose the right technology for your skin and what needs to be treated. Skin type is one of the first things assessed before any laser treatment.
Like any treatment, the VBeam laser has risks and possible side effects, such as temporary redness or swelling and sometimes bruising. An assessment is always needed before treatment to confirm it is right for you. To learn more about what a session involves, see our page on VBeam laser in Montréal.
In short
The VBeam was Clinique Face MD’s first laser because it naturally complements facial surgery: it helps reduce scar redness while scars heal. It is also used for rosacea, recent scars after an injury and some red birthmarks, mostly on lighter skin.
Do you have a red scar, rosacea or a birthmark and wonder whether the VBeam could be an option for you? Book a free 30-minute discovery call with our team.