Low-fluence laser may be alternative for pigmented facial lesions
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When treating pigmentary disorders in Asian patients, the use of low-fluence picosecond Nd:YAG laser may be a more beneficial procedure, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology virtual meeting.
Po-Hsuan Lu, MD, PhD, and colleagues analyzed whether low-fluence picosecond 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser (LFPS) was a more beneficial and safer means of treating pigmented lesions in Taiwanese patients compared with picosecond 532 nm Nd:YAG laser (PS).
In the retrospective study, baseline characteristics and treatment parameters for a variety of lesions were noted for 44 participants, 19 in the PS group and 25 in the LFPS group. Participants had Fitzgerald skin type III (16 for PS vs. 22 for LFPS) or IV (three each for PS and LPS).
Lesion types included lentigines, postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, nevus zygomaticus, melasma, freckles and nevus of Ota.
For the treatment parameters, mean fluence was 0.35 J/cm2 and mean spot size was 3.3 mm in the PS group. The mean rate of repetition was 2.2 Hz. In the LFPS group, mean fluence was 0.82 J/cm2, while mean spot size was 8.2 mm. Mean repetition rate was 5 Hz.
Pigment scores, evaluated using VISIA skin analysis, decreased slightly in patients treated with PS and remained stable in those treated with LFPS.
More than 15% of patients treated with PS experienced postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, with more than 20% experiencing erythema. In patients treated with LFPS, no patients had postinflammatory hyperpigmentation, while less than 5% had erythema.
“Clinical efficacy of the picosecond 532 nm and LFPS 1064 nm laser treatment were comparable for lesions treated on the face,” Lu, of Mackay Memorial Hospital and Mackay Medical College in Taiwan, and colleagues wrote. “LFPS 1064 nm laser may be a safe alternative.”