Pulsed dye laser treatment of rosacea using a novel 15mm diameter treatment beam

BackgroundThe pulsed-dye laser has been used to treat facial redness and rosacea for decades. Recent advances in dye laser technology enable 50% higher output energies supporting 50% larger treatment areas, and beam-diameters up to 15mm with clinically-relevant fluences. In this study, we investigate this novel pulsed-dye laser using a 15mm diameter beam for treatment of rosacea. MethodsTwenty subjects with erythemato-telangiectatic rosacea were enrolled in the study. A total of 4 monthly treatments were administered, first treating linear vessels with a 3x10mm elliptical beam, then diffuse redness with a 15-mm diameter circular beam. Blinded assessment of digital, cross-polarized photographs taken 2 months following the last treatment was performed using an 11-point clearance scale. ResultsNineteen subjects completed the study. Blinded reviewers correctly identified baseline photos in 55 out of the total of 57 images (96.5%). The blinded reviewers scored 17 of the 19 subjects with an improvement greater than 40%, and 11 of the 19 subjects greater than 50%. The average improvement was 53.9%. Side effects were limited to mild edema, mild to moderate erythema, and mild to moderate bruising. ConclusionThis study demonstrates that a newly designed pulsed-dye laser having a novel 15-mm diameter treatment beam improves the appearance of rosacea with a favorable safety profile. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:808-812, 2018. (c) 2018 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.