FROM THE JOURNAL OF DRUGS IN DERMATOLOGY
Fractionated, picosecond-domain neodymium:YAG laser therapy appears safe and effective at improving facial photodamage at all ages, wrote Eric F. Bernstein, MD, a laser surgeon in private practice in Ardmore, Pa., and his associates.
In the study, two fractionated lasers were each combined with a specially designed “holographic beam-splitting optic” to treat mild to moderate facial wrinkles in 24 patients aged 18-75 years with Fitzpatrick skin types I-VI; 14 patients received five monthly treatments with the 1,064 nm laser, while the other 10 patients received four monthly treatments with the 532 nm laser.
Blinded evaluators assessed images taken at baseline and at 12 weeks after treatment. The evaluators found improvements of greater than 20% in 56.9% of the evaluated images, with no statistically significant difference between the two wavelengths. Of those treated with the 1,064 nm laser, 12 of 14 patients were “satisfied” or “very satisfied”; of those treated with the 532 nm laser, 8 of the 10 were “satisfied” or “very satisfied,” Dr. Bernstein and his colleagues wrote in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology .
Patients experienced only mild to moderate discomfort during the laser treatment. Side effects were mild and were limited to erythema and edema in almost all patients; fewer than half the patients developed petechiae. Side effects generally resolved within a few days of treatment.
Dr. Bernstein and some of the other authors reported relationships with Syneron Candela, which provided funding for and loaned equipment used in the study.
Source: Bernstein EF et al. J Drugs Dermatol. 2017 Nov 1;16(11):1077-82.
