Treatment of acne scarring with a novel fractionated, dual‐wavelength, picosecond‐domain laser incorporating a novel holographic beam‐splitter

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Fractional treatment with a dual wavelength 1,064 and 532 nm picosecond-domain laser, delivering a 10 × 10 array of highly focused beamlets via a holographic optic, was investigated for the treatment of acne scars. STUDY Twenty-seven of 31 subjects completed the study, 19 were treated using 1,064 nm and 8 were treated at 532 nm, all having four-monthly treatments. Blinded evaluation of digital images by three physician evaluators comparing pre- and 3-month post-treatment images measured efficacy using a 10-point scale. Subject self-assessment of treatment effects were also recorded. Safety was measured by recording subject discomfort scores and adverse effects. RESULTS Blinded reviewers correctly identified the baseline image in 61 of the 81 image sets (75%), and baseline acne scar scores were 1.8 ± 0.7 and 1.8 ± 0.5 for the 1,064 and 532 nm cohorts, and decreased to 1.1 ± 0.5 (P < 0.001) and 1.1 ± 0.0 (P < 0.005), respectively. Post-treatment erythema, mild edema, and petechiae were the only side effects noted. CONCLUSION The 1,064 and 532 nm picosecond-domain laser incorporating a 10 × 10 holographic beam-splitting handpiece was found to be safe and effective for the treatment of facial acne scars. The treatments were well tolerated and the subjects experienced little to no downtime. Lasers Surg. Med. 49:796-802, 2017. © 2017 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.