Delivery method
Ablative CO₂ Laser
A CO₂ delivery mode in which energy is absorbed at the surface strongly enough to remove tissue rather than heat it alone.
Ablative delivery concentrates absorbed energy sufficiently to vaporise tissue water at the surface, in contrast with non-ablative approaches that deposit heat without removing tissue.
What ablative means
Ablative delivery concentrates absorbed energy enough to vaporise tissue water at the surface — removing tissue rather than only heating it. It is the most direct expression of what the 10,600 nm wavelength does when tissue absorbs it readily and energy is concentrated rather than spread.
The contrast is with non-ablative approaches, which deposit heat into tissue without removing it. Both have a place; they answer different clinical questions, and the choice is a provider-directed decision.
The distinction buyers most often confuse
Ablative and fractional are not alternatives to one another. They describe different things, and a treatment can be both.
- Ablative / non-ablative describes what happens to tissue that receives energy — is it removed, or only heated?
- Fractional / fully ablative describes the pattern — is the whole surface treated, or a patterned fraction of it?
Combining them gives the modes a platform may offer: fully ablative delivery across a continuous area, or fractional delivery of ablative zones with untreated tissue in between. These are meaningfully different procedures with different practical profiles.
Getting this vocabulary right matters commercially as well as clinically. A specification sheet claiming “fractional” tells you about the pattern and nothing about intensity; one claiming “ablative” tells you about the tissue interaction and nothing about coverage. Buyers need both figures to understand what a platform actually offers.
What it means for the clinic
Ablative work sits at the more intensive end of what a CO₂ platform can be configured to do, which affects far more than the treatment itself — scheduling, aftercare expectations, consent discussions, and the training the operating clinician needs.
For a clinic owner, that makes ablative capability a question about the practice rather than only the device. A platform that supports it is only as useful as the team’s ability to deliver it appropriately and the practice’s willingness to support the follow-up it entails. This is why training and provider judgement, not device specifications, govern how these modes are used.
Specific parameters are provider-directed and governed by training; they are not published here.
On the Alexa CO₂ platform
Pro 1 Laser offers CO₂ capability through the Alexa platform, distributed by Laser Equipment Global. The Alexa CO₂ Aesthetic product page documents the system’s specifications, licensing, and regulatory status, and is the authoritative record of what the device is licensed and configured to do.
Providers evaluating a specific configuration should request the current specification sheet.
Devices using this technology
Related applications
Related technologies
FAQs
What makes a treatment ablative rather than non-ablative?
Whether tissue is removed. Ablative delivery concentrates energy enough to vaporise tissue water at the surface; non-ablative approaches deposit heat without removing tissue.
Is ablative the same as fractional?
No, and the two are often confused. Ablative describes what happens to the tissue that receives energy. Fractional describes the pattern in which energy is distributed. A treatment can be both — fractional delivery of ablative zones.
Why do platforms offer more than one mode?
Because the appropriate approach depends on the case. A system supporting several delivery modes lets the provider match the approach to the presentation rather than fitting every case to one method.