New Picosecond Laser for Dyspigmentation in Skin of Color

The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery recently released study findings on a new picosecond laser for the treatment of pigmentary disorders in patients with darker skin tones.

Historically, dyspigmentation in darker skin tones has been difficult to treat because of an increased risk of adverse events. However, a new commercial 730 nm picosecond laser, which was initially developed for faster tattoo removal, may be a safe and effective way to treat these patients.

The case study, “Successful Treatment of Pigmentary Disorders in Asians With a Novel 730-nm Picosecond Laser,” reports on two Korean patients with pigmentary disorders including freckles, lentigines and melasma.

Patient 1, a 21-year-old female, presented with freckles on both cheeks and the periorbital area. Study physicians used a 730 nm picosecond laser which they applied at 1.4J/cm2 with a spot size of 3 mm, according to the study. All lesions were treated by a single pass with minimum overlap.

“Slight whitening of the pigmented lesions was noted immediately after the laser irradiation, which slowly disappeared after an hour,” study authors write. “No visible erythema or other immediate adverse effects were noted.”

Patient 2, a 49-year-old female with melasma, freckles, lentigines and erythema on both checks and the zygomatic area, was treated with a 730 nm picosecond laser at a fluence of 1.7 J/cm2 with a spot size of 3 mm for the freckles and lentigines. A 1064 nm picosecond laser was also used at a low fluence of 0.6 J/cm2 with a 6-mm spot size for the rest of the face, according to the study.

Similar to patient 1, slight whitening occurred after laser irradiation, but subsided after a few hours.

At six weeks post-treatment, both patients saw a significant reduction in pigmentation with only one treatment session. No post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or repigmentation was observed at that time. Study authors note that the treatments were well tolerated without topical anesthesia.

The study authors call for further clinical trials to be performed to further examine the potential of 730 nm picosecond lasers for this indication and to determine optimal treatment parameters.

Reference:

Lee SJ, Han HS, Hong JK, Park KY, Seo SJ. Successful Treatment of Pigmentary Disorders in Asians With a Novel 730-nm Picosecond Laser. Lasers Surg Med. 2020; epub ahead of print.