dermatologic laser surgery

Indications

• vascular lesions
  • nevus flammeus (port-wine stains)
  • flashlamp pulsed dye laser
• pigmented lesions
  • tattoos
  • lentigines
  • benign pigmented lesions
  • Q-switched Nd:YAG (neodymium: yttrium-aluminum-garnet) laser
  • ruby laser
• photodamaged skin & facial wrinkling
  • ultrapulsed carbon dioxide laser
• cutaneous tumors that have selectively taken up systemically or locally administered porphyrin derivatives (experimental) [photodynamic therapy]

Principle

• chromophores in skin (hemoglobin & melanin) absorb most of the laser light incident on the skin
• the laser energy generates heat which causes destruction of the light-absorbing tissue (photothermolysis)
• pulsing the laser beam in short bursts with duration close to the thermal relaxation time facilitates destruction without scarring

More general terms

• laser surgery (radiosurgery)

More specific terms

• photodynamic therapy

Additional terms

• lentigo; melanocytic macule
• nevus flammeus (port-wine stain)
• photothermolysis
• thermal relaxation time