5 Perspectives on Laser Treatment in Dermatology

Interested in finding out what is new, trending, and up-and-coming in the world of laser therapy in dermatology? Review these 5 articles from the Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 conference coverage earlier this year.

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Using Lasers to Treat Medical Problems

Suneel Chilukuri, MD, discussed a Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 session called “Lasers and Energy Devices Used to Treat Medical Problems What’s New in 2023.” In the session, a group of experts, including Chilukuri, discussed using lasers and other similar devices to treat dermatologic conditions such as acne, cutaneous lesions, scars, and pigment disorders.

New Pediatric Perspectives for Acne

Lawrence Eichenfield, MD, discussed the use of several laser and laser-based therapies for the treatment of acne vulgaris in adolescents at his Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 session.

Several current laser therapy options for acne include blue light, pulsed dye laser, Nd: YAG (long-pulsed, Q-switched, combination), erbium laser resurfacing therapies, intense pulsed light, photodynamic therapy, solid-state fractional 589/1319 nm laser, and 1726-nm laser systems.

Highlights From Lecture on Port Wine Stains at Maui Derm Hawaii

Ilona Frieden, MD, discussed the future of laser treatments in port wine stains at her Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 session.

"Part 3 of my talk relates to a remarkable revolution that happened in medicine. And that's the advent of next-generation sequencing, which allowed us to begin to unravel the genomics of so many disorders including port wine stain birthmarks. That occurred in the past 2 decades, but mostly starting around 2010,” Frieden said. “What happened with that was that we had really no idea what caused them, we knew it must be some developmental error that caused this process of the blood vessels not forming correctly. But that was about it. We knew the causes of the vast majority of them, we do know the causes, and that was a real revelation.”

New Technological Advances in Cosmetic Procedures 

David Laub, MD, discussed the use of laser treatment in cosmetic procedures in his Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 session “What’s My Treatment.”

In the session, Laub and a panel of experts discussed several real-world patient cases. Dermatologists in the surgical and aesthetic spaces assessed each case to determine which treatment (energy-based devices, lasers, fillers, injectables, topical medications) would be recommended. Then, the panelists revealed which treatment was used and why.

“The second case could be in the same arena pigmentation, where a different colleague will go and maybe treat it with lasers or some other device, the same particular problem so that the audience can get a very strong sense of the different modalities that can be used for a particular problem, whether it be pigmentation, wrinkles, or reversing sun damage, in the form of texture,” Laub said.

What’s New and Trending in Laser Therapy

Suzanne Kilmer, MD, discussed the future of laser and energy-based devices in dermatologic treatment in her Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 session “Lasers, Lights, Radiofrequency, Photodynamic Therapy and More.”

“We also talk about acne and ways to target acne with lasers, that's a booming field right now,” Kilmer said. “There are new lasers in the 1720 nanometer range that target the sebaceous glands because they have fat in them and that wavelength is absorbed by fat. So that's kind of a big newer one that's coming out.”