Treatment of Photoaging With a Dual-Wavelength, 532 nm and 1,064 nm Picosecond-Domain Laser Producing a Fractionated Treatment Beam Using a Holographic Optic

November 2017 | Volume 16 | Issue 11 | Original Article | 1077 | Copyright © November 2017


Eric F. Bernstein MD MSE,a Kevin T. Schomacker PhD,b Amit S. Paranjape PhD,b Jayant D. Bhawalkar PhDb

aMain Line Center for Laser Surgery, Ardmore, PA bSyneron Candela Corporation, Wayland, MA

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A dual-wavelength, picosecond-domain, fractionated laser delivering 1,064nm and 532nm laser energy through a holographic optic was investigated for safety and effectiveness at improving the appearance of chronic photoaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 27 subjects were enrolled with 24 completing the study, and 14 subjects were treated with 1,064 nm and 10 with 532 nm. The 1,064 nm-treated subjects received 5 monthly treatments while the 532 nm-treated subjects received 4 monthly treatments. Improvement was measured by blinded evaluation of pre- and post-treatment images 12 weeks following the final treatment. Subjects also evaluated treatment effect and side-effects. RESULTS: Blinded reviewers correctly identified the baseline image in 52 of 72 paired images, or 72% of the time, with a mean improvement score of 1.4 using an 11-point rating scale (P less than 0.0001). Post-treatment erythema, mild edema, and petechiae were the only side effects noted. CONCLUSION: The fractionated, picosecond-domain, 532 nm and 1,064 nm laser is safe and effective for improvement of facial photodamage. The laser was well tolerated with mild erythema, edema, and petechiae as the most common side-effects.

J Drugs Dermatol. 2017;16(11):1077-1082.

INTRODUCTION

Most of the signs we associate with skin aging including: fine lines and wrinkles, enlarged pores, pigmentary alterations, skin sagging, and redness, are due to long-term sun-exposure and not chronological aging.1-3 This is easily demonstrated by comparing sun-exposed facial skin to areas where the sun doesn’t shine, on the same individual. The sun turns on genes in the skin that result in abnormal distribution of epidermal pigmentation, as well as causing the normal collagen-rich dermis, with its fine meshwork of elastic fibers, to be digested away and replaced with large, non-functional clumps of abnormal elastic tissue called solar elastosis.1-3 Almost a quarter century ago it was discovered that creating a wound with a high-powered carbon dioxide (CO2) laser results in skin remodeling and replacement of solar elastosis with dermis that has a more normal architecture.4 This in-turn, reduces the signs of photodamage. However, full face CO2 laser treatments also resulted in significant down-time, and were sometimes associated with side-effects of infection and scarring.5 These early lasers gave way to fractionated CO2 lasers, which treated small areas of skin while leaving zones of intervening untreated skin.6 Side-effects and downtime were significantly reduced with fractionated treatments. Further developments in laser technologies in other industries led to medical lasers incorporating infrared fiber lasers, which were non-ablative or minimally ablative, further reducing side effects, but often requiring a series of treatments for optimal outcomes.7-9 Q-switched lasers designed for tattoo and pigmented lesion removal were also developed to deliver fractionated microbeams for facial rejuvenation.10-11 Further advances in tattoo-removing lasers led to the development of picosecond-domain lasers with sub-nanosecond pulses.12-14 These lasers have been fitted with various optics to create fractionated arrays of high-fluence treatment zones of picosecond-domain pulses, and have been used to treat photodamage and acne scarring with little or no downtime.15-21 The shorter sub-nanosecond laser pulses combined with focusing of the beam allows the delivery of high-intensity pulses sufficient to induce optical breakdown in tissue at lower energies compared to nanosecond laser pulses, thus enabling the high intensity pulses to be delivered with minimal disruption to tissue.22

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Subjects

Healthy male and female subjects between the ages of 18 and 75 with Fitzpatrick skin types I-VI, and mild to moderate facial, perioral and/or periorbital rhytides, who were willing to undergo laser treatments, were eligible for this IRB-approved study. Exclusion criteria included: pregnancy and breastfeeding,