Conventional management of debilitating pediatric scar contractures, including hand therapy and surgery, may often be beset by delayed treatment, suboptimal results, and additional surgical morbidity. Ablative fractional laser resurfacing is an emerging adjunctive procedural option for scar contractures because of its promising efficacy and safety profile. However, its use to improve function h...

BACKGROUND Given the natural tendency for 15% to 40% of infantile hemangiomas to spontaneously involute over time, much debate surrounds the issue of treatment. Until recently, effective therapies to improve the appearance of residual textural skin changes in these patients were lacking. We suggest the use of ablative fractional resurfacing for the treatment of textural skin changes resulting f...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES We examined the effects of pulse energy variations on the dimensions of microscopic thermal injury zones (MTZs) created on human skin ex vivo and in vivo using nonablative fractional resurfacing. MATERIALS AND METHODS A Fraxel SR laser system emitting at 1,550 nm provided an array of microscopic spots at variable densities. Pulse energies ranging from 4.5 to 40 mJ we...

BACKGROUND Despite the effectiveness of ablative CO(2) laser resurfacing for facial rejuvenation, its application has been limited owing to an undesirable side-effect profile, including prolonged hyperemia and potential pigmentary changes. However, newer fractional CO(2) laser technology has reduced the recovery time and led to decreases in postprocedural hypo- and hyperpigmentation. OBJECTIV...

BACKGROUND Acne scar correction remains a challenge to the dermatologic surgeon. With nonablative laser resurfacing, this correction is imputed to dermal collagen remodeling and acne scar reorganization. Although atrophic acne scars tend to respond to laser treatment, the deeper ice pick and boxcar scars tend to be laser resistant. OBJECTIVE To investigate the treatment of atrophic and a mixe...

Vitiligo is a common disease with a prevalence of about 0.5-1% for the general population. In many patients disease is resistant despite well-delineated and updated guidelines [1] on implementation methods for the many conventional and novel treatments. Various laser and light treatments, alone or combined have been shown to be effective but are available in only a few centers and require multi...

Fractional erbium (Er:YAG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) lasers are ablative fractional resurfacing systems widely used to improve the appearance of wrinkles and atrophic scars. However, there have been limited studies comparing the clinical outcome and adverse effects of these two lasers. We conducted a prospective, randomized trial to compare the efficacy and safety of fractional erbium and carbon...