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The long-term effect of 1550 nm erbium:glass fractional laser in acne vulgaris

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Abstract

We evaluated the short-term and long-term effects of the 1550 nm erbium:glass (Er:glass) fractional laser in the treatment of facial acne vulgaris. Forty-five (9 male and 36 female) acne patients were treated 4 times at 4-week intervals with the following parameters: 169 spot density and 15–30 mJ/cm2 fluence. There was no control group. The laser spots were adjustable (maximum overlap: 20 %) according to the treatment area, and delivered in rows in order to cover all the face. Clinical photographs were taken. The IGA scores and lesion counts were performed for each treatment. Their current state was obtained by phone call follow-up to determine the long-term effect and photographs were offered by themselves or taken in hospital. After four treatments, all patients had an obvious reduction of lesion counts and IGA score and the peak lesion counts decreased to 67.7 % after the initial four treatment sessions. For long-term effect, 8 patients lost follow-up, hence 37 patients were followed-up. 8 patients were 2-year follow up, 27 at the 1-year follow-up, and all patients at the half-year follow-up. The mean percent reduction was 72 % at the half-year follow-up, 79 % at the 1-year follow-up and 75 % at the 2-year follow-up. Side effects and complications were limited to transient erythema and edema, and few patients suffered from transient acne flare-ups and sensitivity. All patients responded that their skin was less prone to oiliness. In conclusion, acne can be successfully treated by 1550 nm Er:glass fractional laser, with few side effects and prolonged acne clearing.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by no foundation.

All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, and all authors approved the final version to be published.

Study conception and design: Weihui Zeng, Songmei Geng, Shengxiang Xiao

Acquisition of data: Yale Liu, Qin Ge, Guanglei Hu, Xiaoxiao Wang

Analysis and interpretation of data: Weihui Zeng, Yale Liu, Die Hu, Smita Jha

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 157 Xiwu Road, Xincheng District, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, 710004, China

    Yale Liu, Weihui Zeng, Die Hu, Smita Jha, Qin Ge, Songmei Geng, Shengxiang Xiao, Guanglei Hu & Xiaoxiao Wang

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  1. Yale Liu
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  2. Weihui Zeng
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  3. Die Hu
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  7. Shengxiang Xiao
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Correspondence to Weihui Zeng.

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Liu, Y., Zeng, W., Hu, D. et al. The long-term effect of 1550 nm erbium:glass fractional laser in acne vulgaris. Lasers Med Sci 31, 453–457 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-016-1871-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-016-1871-5

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