Utilizing fractional resurfacing in the treatment of therapy-resistant melasma

Background. Multiple treatment modalities have been employed for the management of melasma with minimal to no success. Objective. We propose fractional resurfacing as a new treatment modality for melasma. Methods. A 31-year-old Caucasian female with facial epidermal and dermal melasma, resistant to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of cosmetic and laser therapy Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 39 - 43
Main Authors Tannous, Zeina S., Astner, Susanne
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Informa UK Ltd 01.03.2005
Taylor & Francis
Subjects
Adult
Dose Fractionation
Facial Dermatoses - pathology
Facial Dermatoses - radiotherapy
Female
Humans
Laser Therapy
Laser treatment
Melanosis - pathology
Melanosis - radiotherapy
melasma
Treatment Outcome
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Summary:Background. Multiple treatment modalities have been employed for the management of melasma with minimal to no success. Objective. We propose fractional resurfacing as a new treatment modality for melasma. Methods. A 31-year-old Caucasian female with facial epidermal and dermal melasma, resistant to multiple courses of topical therapies, was treated with two sessions of full-face fractional resurfacing (FraxelTM Laser; Reliant technologies, San Diego, CA), separated by a three-week interval. Clinical improvement was assessed by Wood's Lamp examination as well as parallel and cross-polarized comparative photography at baseline and 6 months later. Results. Marked reduction in epidermal and dermal facial pigmentation was observed at the six-month follow-up visit. Conclusion. Fractional resurfacing may prove to be an effective and safe treatment modality for lightening of the epidermal and dermal pigmentation of melasma. Further studies with long-term follow-up periods and multiple patients with diverse skin phototypes and different variants of melasma are warranted
Bibliography:ObjectType-Case Study-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-4
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ObjectType-Report-1
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ISSN:1476-4172
1476-4180
DOI:10.1080/14764170510037752