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"If this were a magic mirror that could change anything about your face, what would it be?" Dr. Mark Mausner thrust a mirror before my face forcing me to stare at my bumpy red face. I really didn't need a mirror to answer that - obviously I wanted a smooth face that wouldn't betray that something was wrong with me.

After a short explanation of the CO2 Ultrapulse skin resurfacing laser that he would use, we quickly settled on a three part treatment plan for my entire face, the first scheduled for September 9. He assured me that by the end, my face would be smooth.

In 1987 when I was in eighth grade, a doctor (not Dr. Mausner) first approached my mother and I about the possibility of laser treatment. Knowing that I was very self-conscious about my appearance, my parents consented and I went through the procedure. My parents were justifiably concerned, for unknown to them, I was being ostracized by my classmates and treated as if I were a germ. All my hopes for a normal face and therefore "life" was riding on this surgery, and I was in for a disappointment.

I still remember the boring hospital stays, the painful shoulder muscle injection that was supposed to relax me for the surgery, and the curious stares as I walked to the bathroom with bandages covered by dry blood all over my face. Afterwards I had to stay home for three weeks while my face healed and itched like crazy. Three weeks later, my bumps were still there. Although the skin on my cheeks improved dramatically, the bumps on my nose and chin seemed more pronounced than ever. While my mother was delighted, I hated my face for failing to reach my expectations.

The second time was the summer after I graduated from high school in 1991. It seemed like a good time to go through treatment again before leaving for college. Since I had just spent a happy four years in school, this time it was relatively stress free - at first anyway. I had a new doctor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore who gave me numbing cream that didn't work. Mid-surgery, she had to apply local anesthetic multiple times and couldn't go in very deep. While the results again weren't remarkable, I didn't mind as much because my friends didn't care one way or the other.

Memories came back to me as I sat in the waiting room on surgery day, and I told myself that I shouldn't expect miracles. I couldn't allow myself to be too hopeful despite my faith in Dr. Mausner.

At half past noon, an anesthesiologist walked in, and I was wheeled into the operating room. The next thing I knew, I was in the recovery room struggling to open my eyes while my boyfriend anxiously peered into my face. While I was overcome with nausea that lasted through the day, I was so happy and relieved to see that he had made the plane back from a business trip in New York that I almost cried. Aside from the fact that it would be embarrassing, it also wasn't practical with my face bandaged, so I didn't. Soon after we got home, my mother arrived from the airport to come stay with me for a few days. The new ultrapulse laser keeps blood loss to a minimum, and by the fourth day, I saw a substantial improvement. A co-worker who drove me to my post-op office visit was amazed. That weekend, urged by my boyfriend who insisted I was being too self-conscious about my raw face, I went out for dinner, and a week later I was back to work. The only side-effect was the ever-present itching while my face healed and the boredom of staying home. At work, my friend thought my bumps decreased by 60%.

I was pretty pleased with it myself. The results were beyond my expectations. Having been told Dr. Mausner was being conservative to avoid scarring and he would go in deeper next time, I have let myself be more hopeful about the end results. My life isn't at stake as it was in eighth grade, but it would still be nice if Dr. Mausner could work that magic mirror - as much as possible anyway.

(Click here to see how much it cost. Also check out Q&A: Treating Skin Lesions for details on the procedure.)