Presidential Greeting - American Society for Laser Medicine and ...

74 American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery Abstracts
cramps. Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) has been employed to
assist several wound healing process, helping successfully the
anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. The aim of this study was
to evaluate LLLT applied onto venous ulceration and its
correlation with pH.
Study: A.S., 63 years, presented chronic venous ulcer, edema and
pain in the right leg for 3 years. Without success with
conventional treatment, patient underwent to LLLT (? ¼ 685 nm,
DE ¼ 8 J/cm 2 , P ¼ 30 mW, T ¼ 11 seconds), punctually, around
the ulcer, initially, 2 /week and afterwards 1 /s.e.m., in which
pH was measured before and after laser. Since first LLLT
application, patient described pain reduction, besides changes in
pH level inside the ulcer. Also, this procedure may aid to
determine bacteria and fungi infection intralesion.
Results: Leg ulcers are a huge problem for both patients and
health service resources, attacking people of different ages that it
is associated with socioeconomical problems, like absence from
work. pH alteration onto the skin irradiated by LLLT signals to be
a relevant parameter to the dosimetry. The effective treatment
using LLLT in diminished edema, wound size, besides analgesia
affects patient’s quality of life. We could identify these alterations
and the correlations with pH changes, inclining lesion normality.
Conclusion: These findings support the continued use of LLLT in
clinical practice for this type of ulceration, and promote awareness
for its use as an adjunctive therapy life. Thus, LLLT denoted to be
safe and exceptionally valuable tool with cost-effectiveness.
#249
1,927 NM FRACTIONAL THULIUM FIBER LASER
FOR THE TREATMENT OF NON-FACIAL
PHOTODAMAGE: A PILOT STUDY
Kristel Polder, April Harrison,
Leigh Ellen Eubanks, Suzanne Bruce
University of Texas Houston; Suzanne Bruce and Associates,
Houston, TX
Background: A 1,927 nm wavelength was recently added to the
1,550 nm erbium-doped fiber laser. This wavelength possesses a
higher absorption coefficient for water as compared to the
1,550 nm, conferring an increased ability to target epidermal
processes. This study evaluates the efficacy and safety of a novel
1,927 nm fractional thulium fiber laser in the treatment of nonfacial
photodamage.
Study: Nine patients with moderate to severe non-facial
photodamage underwent three laser treatments (3- to 4-week
intervals) at pulse energies of 10–20 mJ and 30–55% surface area
coverage (4–8 passes) with a 1,927 nm thulium fiber laser.
Treatment areas represented in this study included the dorsal
hands, bilateral circumferential forearms, neck, and chest.
Clinical improvement of treatment areas was evaluated by a
blinded assessor using randomized photos at 1-month follow-up
with a quartile grading scale (0–4). Patients also completed a
satisfaction questionnaire.
Results: Nine patients with a total of 12 treatment areas
completed three treatments and the 1-month follow-up visit. At
follow-up, a blinded assessor rated mean improvement in
photodamage as 3.25 1.0 and lentigines as 3.33 0.9 on a scale
of 0–4 (0¼ none, 1 ¼ 1–25%, 2 ¼ 26–50%, 3 ¼ 51–75%, and
4 ¼ 76–100% improvement). Eight of 12 treatment areas
demonstrated at least 51–75% improvement in overall
photodamage. Patients rated the mean level of improvement in
sun freckling as 2.71 0.8 and overall improvement in sun
damage as 2.0 0.9. Skin responses observed after treatment
were moderate erythema, mild edema, itching, and
desquamation. No scarring or post-inflammatory hyper- or
hypopigmentation was observed.
Conclusion: The 1,927 nm fractional thulium fiber laser is a safe,
effective treatment for non-facial photodamage.
#250
FRACTIONAL CO2 LASER IN THE COMBINED
TREATMENT OF PAPULOPUSTULAR ACNE
VULGARIS
Julia Pryaslova, Anastasia Tolstaya,
Mikhail Golikov, Ksenia Krechko
Ekaterinburg, Russia
Background: Acne is a common skin disease that dramatically
reduces the quality of life. Despite the wide range of treatment
modalities, the problem remains actual. The use of laser- and
light-based options has increased dramatically in recent years.
Fractional lasers are commonly used for acne scars treatment, so
we wanted to check its effectiveness in treatment of inflammatory
acne.
Study: Twenty-one patients 16–43 years old (mean 30 3) with
inflammatory facial acne mild–moderate severity and/or acne
scars were enrolled in the study. Treatment included 1.3 0.2
(1–4) sessions of fractional CO2 laser (SmartXide) ablation at 1–
1.5 months intervals in combination with systemic antiviral and
topical antibiotic therapy. Mean treatments fluence was 3.3 0.5
(0.8–7.5) J/cm 2 . During post-partum period were applied an
antiseptic solution, antibacterial agents, wound healing cream, as
well as recommending the use of photoprotection with SPF ¼ 30.
Clinical photographs were obtained at baseline and after each
treatment, improvements were rated on a five-point scale
(0—unchanged; 1—weak; 2—good; 3—very good; 4—excellent).
Results: There was a cumulative therapeutic effect, with
objective and subjective significant reduction of skin oil, the
number of inflammatory elements, the relief smoothing, the
improvements of atrophic scars, lightening pigments and
stagnant inflammatory spots. Treatment-related pain was well
tolerated, and adverse effects were limited to transient erythema
and edema at treatment sites and 1 case of streptostaphylodermia.
Investigator and subject assessments show positive results in 81%
patients and good–excellent results in 57% patients.
Conclusion: Fractional CO2 ablation can be used to treat
inflammatory acne and scars mild–moderate severity, but we
need to develop appropriate protocols to increase the effectiveness
of the treatment.
#251
EVALUATION OF EFFICACY OF Q-SWITCHED
ND:YAG LASER FOR TATTOO REMOVAL IN
INDIAN PATIENTS
Srikantha Rathi, Niteen Dhepe, Ashok Naik
Dr. Dhepe’s Skin City, Solapur, India
Background: There are many studies on type I to type IV skin in
regard to tattoo removal. There are few studies assessing the
efficacy of laser for tattoo removal in type IV–VI skin. Moreover
there are not many studies from India. In view of this we aim to
study the efficacy of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser for treatment of
tattoos by using two different energy settings and to study the side
effects of the treatment.