This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Fractionated nonablative laser effectively, safely treated facial actinic keratoses
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Fractionated nonablative thulium laser therapy was effective and safe in treating patients with facial actinic keratoses, according to study results.
In a 6-month prospective clinical trial in New York, researchers studied 24 patients (average age, 60 years; 79% women) with photodamage and actinic keratoses (AK) who received up to four treatments with a fractionated 1927-nm nonablative thulium laser. Forty-two percent of patients had Fitzpatrick skin type I, 54% had type II and 4% had type III. Seven patients consented to two 3-mm punch biopsies taken at initial presentation and 6-month follow-up.
One month after final treatment, the average number of AK lesions decreased 91.3% from a baseline of 14.04 to 1.22. At 3 months, AK counts decreased to 1.78 (87.3% reduction in absolute number of AK from baseline), and at 6 months, AK counts declined to 1.88 (86.6% reduction). On a scale of 0 (none) to 4 (very significant), patients noted marked improvement in overall photodamage with an average score of 3.04, compared with physicians’ average score of 3.54 at 6 months beyond treatment.
Patients showed no evidence of erythema or swelling at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Consistent histological findings were seen in the initial specimens of clinically appearing AK and normal appearing skin of the seven patients who submitted to biopsies. Six patients (85.7%) displayed histological evidence of AK clearance at 6-month follow-up biopsies.
“No incidents of infection, scarring or pigmentary alteration were observed,” the researchers reported. “Individuals with type I to II skin are generally less prone to developing postinflammatory hyperpigmentation from laser resurfacing, and their preponderance in our study potentially contributed to the observed absence of pigment-related side-effects.
“The clinical and histologic findings [and] reported patient satisfaction and safety, suggest that the treatment of AK and photodamage with a fractionated 1927-nm nonablative thulium laser … is a promising new therapeutic option,” the researchers concluded.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts