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Age Spots and
pigmented Lesions
Discoloration of the skin
can be present at birth or acquired as the
result of age, sun, or other influences.
Pigmented lesions can be cosmetically
undesirable and distracting from how we want to
be perceived by others. Fortunately, modern
laser technology provides effective treatment
for may types of pigmented skin
lesions.
Birthmarks
The pigmented birth-marks include
Café-au-lait spots which are the light
brown color of milky coffee. These can be small
or very large and can appear on any part of the
body.
Nevus of Ota is a
pigmented birthmark which can be very large and
occurs on the face. It is most common in
Oriental skin.
Freckles
Freckles, also called
ephilides, are very small spots of concentrated
pigment stimulated by the sun that tend to
remain in stable locations on sun exposed areas.
This is, of course, a very common
condition
Age spots
(lentigines)
Age spots, also called
liver spots or lentigines are abnormal pigment
accumulations in the epidermis due to many years
of sun exposure. They occur on the face, neck,
chest, back as well as the forearms and
hands.
Melasma
Melasma is called "the
mask of pregnancy". It is pigment that has been
stimulated by hormonal influence such as from
pregnancy or certain hormone medications. It
commonly occurs around the eyes with a mottled
appearance from the various intensities of
pigment in the spots.
Tattoos
Cosmetic tattoos vary in
the color of inks used, the depth of ink
placement (professional vs. amateur tattoos) and
chemical nature of the inks. The laser light
color must be selected which is effective for
each color in the tattoo. Traumatic tattoo are
from the deposition of colored material under
the skin from a deep dirty abrasion or other
injury. Laser Treatment of Pigmented
Lesions
Lasers can effectively
treat many types of pigmented skin lesions. The
choice of laser depends primarily on the depth
and color of the pigment that is being removed.
Pigment in the epidermis is fairly easy to treat
with a variety of lasers and non-laser
methods.
Resurfacing procedures
such as laser skin resurfacing and even the
"power peel" treatments are effective in
removing epidermal pigment. Patients undergoing
these treatments can expect significant
improvement or complete clearing of epidermal
pigment. A series of light chemical peels can
also remove pigment abnormalities
safely.
пицца на дом курская
But for small
concentrations of unsightly pigment such as age
spots, a pigment specific laser often is a
better solution. At Laser Medical Skin Center we
use a "KTP" laser (a green light laser) for
epidermal pigment spots. In just a few moments
the pigment is broken up within the skin to be
cleared by the body. In a week to 10 days it is
gone. Sometimes a second treatment is necessary
for complete results. The only usual side effect
is superficial skin crusting which rapidly
heals.
The KTP laser is effective
for age spots, freckles, and café-au-lait
spots. (Though the latter require more treatment
repetitions.)
For deeper pigment, in
dermis, a higher energy Q-switched laser is
used. These are effective on junctional and
certain other moles, Nevus of Ota, Becker’s
Nevus, and tattoo pigments. There are four types
of Q-switched lasers that have certain
advantages with various forms of pigment. For
multi-colored tattoos it takes two or more
different lasers to treat the various tattoo
pigment colors. Multiple treatments are to be
expected for good results.
Melasma can sometimes be
improved with laser therapy. But it tends to
come back regardless of which method is used.
Unfortunately, there is not yet an effective
method for treating melasma without likely
recurrence.
[Paul
Van Camp, MD. ]
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