4/22/08
According to an article published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, pulsed-dye laser can be used to safely and effectively treat rosacea.
Eric F. Bernstein, MD, of Laser Surgery and Cosmetic Dermatology Centers, in Bryn Mawr, Pa, treated 20 patients with rosacea using high-energy, long pulse-duration pulsed-dye laser in four sessions at 4-week intervals. An elliptical spot and long pulse-duration was used to treat linear telangiectasias, and a circular spot and short pulse-duration was used over the entire face. Improvement was assessed by blinded evaluation of digital photographs taken before and 8 weeks after treatment, as well as by Bernstein’s subjective evaluation.
The average rosacea score, determined by Bernstein, improved from 2.7 to 1.4 using a 0 (no rosacea) to 6 (severe rosacea) scale. The average rosacea score as determined by blinded physicians rating digital photographs was 2.3 before treatment and 1.4 8 weeks after treatment using a 0 (mild) to 6 (severe) scale. Patient-reported pain with the procedure averaged 6 on a 0 (no pain) to 10 (severe pain) scale.
"The high-energy, long pulse-duration pulsed-dye laser improves rosacea with a very favorable safety profile, and less purpura than resulted from earlier generation pulsed-dye lasers," says Bernstein.
[www.modernmedicine.com, April 18, 2008]
