Lasers help dark-skinned patients

17 Jun 2002

US dermatologist reveals that long-wavelength lasers can treat ethnic skins without risk of scarring.

Laser treatments for skin and hair conditions have not traditionally been a reliable choice for dark-skinned people because the laser radiation can cause loss of pigmentation or scarring in darker skins. This, however, is changing, according to dermatologist Min-Wei Christine Lee from the University of California, San Francisco, US.

Speaking at the American Academy of Dermatology's summer scientific meeting, Lee revealed how the recent development of a new generation of lasers represents an important breakthrough for dermatologists. The lasers have longer wavelengths and adequate cooling power. "These do not interfere with the additional melanin, or pigment in the skin of ethnic patients," she explained.

For example, pseudofolliculitis barbae - a condition in which highly curved hairs in a man's beard area grow back into the skin and cause inflammation - can now be cured quickly using a long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Using this technique, dermatologists have painlessly removed the in-growing hairs and prevented permanent scarring. Lee also described how a variable-pulsed KTP laser has been used to treat dermatosis papulosa nigra, a condition that manifests itself as highly pigmented papules on the faces of Blacks and Asians.

"Lighter Asians and Hispanics, and even light-skinned Blacks, can be treated with a variety of long-pulsed lasers on more conservative settings" said Lee. Laser techniques such as these offer long-term cost-savings to patients and healthcare organizations by reducing the chronic usage of expensive medications, she added.