Pigmented Lesion Laser Treatment

 Sun exposure, aging, genetics, hormonal changes and injury, can cause skin pigmentation changes that can be treated with non-ablative lasers.

Types of Pigmented Lesions

There are many different types of pigmented lesions. Here are the most common ones:

•solar lentigines (sun/age spots)
•Ephelides (freckles)
• post-inflammatory discolorations (dark, brown skin changes that remain after the skin heals from inflamation or injury, such as acne or skin trauma)

*Senile angiomas (cherry angiomas, ruby spots, cherry hemangiomas, capillary hemangioma)

These lesions are benign; the goal of the laser is to clarify the skin to give a healthy clear complexion to both face/body.

How Laser Treatments Address Pigmented Lesions

In the case of pigmented lesions, the target for the laser light action is melanin (brown pigmentations) and oxyhemoglobin (red pigmentations) in blood vessels, cherry angiomas, spider veins. The laser treatment works by emitting light absorbed by the pigment and heating it to seal the lesion or the vessel, which the body absorbs over few weeks.  The laser treatment is non-ablative (non-wounding laser); there is no down time after treatment.

Please keep in mind that laser treatments are not recommended if any of the following factors apply to you:

  • pregnancy
  • breastfeeding
  • sun tan (1 month)
  • sun-sensitizing drugs (retinoids, tetracyclines, etc.)
  • herbs (St. John’s wort, calendula, stop using 3 weeks before the treatment)
  • unstable diabetes
  • vitiligo
  • psoriasis (active phase)
  • epilepsy
  • blood coagulation disorders
  • autoimmune disorders
  • skin prone to the formation of keloids
  • other possible conditions