PORTLAND - It’s something you may not want to see but a machine is giving people a 3D look at just how much damage the sun has done to their skin.
“Growing up at the beach and ignoring my Mom’s pleas to stay out of the sun caught up with me,” said Christine Gibson after seeing her images from the Vectra XT. Gibson is a patient at PeaceHealth Plastic Surgery in Vancouver.
She’s been undergoing skin treatments at the clinic for about a year.
The 3D computer imaging gives her Medical Aesthetician, Charmi Gosalia, a look at the red and brown pigmentation on the skin which can indicate sun damage and aging.
“It’s very important to know what condition the skin is in to be able to treat it properly,” explained Gosalia. Brown specks indicated sun damage on Christine’s forehead and neck.
“When you see Christine you don’t think there’s much damage but there is a lot below the surface,” Gosalia said pointing to the 3D image.
“The machine motivates me to use sunscreen everywhere constantly,” added Christine.
But why worry about damage you can’t even see without the use of the machine? “If any of these concerns aren’t dealt with they’ll require deeper, more expensive treatments in the future,” answered Gosalia.
For Christine, the images are a reason to continue laser treatments and chemical peels.
She also plans to have a conversation with her daughter.
“My daughter is 19 and heading to college in Hawaii, so I want her to come in here and have this imaging and also see what happened to me.”
