Lasers in Medical Science

, Volume 31, Issue 9, pp 1783–1787 | Cite as

Treatment of infraorbital dark circles using 694-nm fractional Q-switched ruby laser

Original Article
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Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of using a 694-nm fractional Q-switched ruby laser to treat infraorbital dark circles. Thirty women with infraorbital dark circles (predominant color: dark/brown) participated in this open-labeled study. The participants received eight sessions of 694-nm fractional Q-switched ruby laser treatment using a fluence of 3.0–3.5 J/cm2, at an interval of 7 days. The melanin deposition in the lesional skin was observed in vivo using reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). The morphological changes were evaluated using a global evaluation, an overall self-assessment, and a Mexameter. Twenty-eight of the 30 patients showed global improvements that they rated as excellent or good. Twenty-six patients rated their overall satisfaction as excellent or good. The melanin index indicated a substantial decrease from 240.44 (baseline) to 194.56 (P < 0.05). The RCM results showed a dramatic decrease in melanin deposition in the upper dermis. The adverse effects were minimal. The characteristic finding of dark/brown infraorbital dark circles is caused by increased melanin deposition in the upper dermis. The treatment of these infraorbital dark circles using a 694-nm fractional QSR laser is safe and effective.

Keywords

Infraorbital dark circles 694-nm fractional Q-switched ruby laser Reflectance confocal microscopy 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag London 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of DermatologyNo. 1 Hospital of China Medical UniversityShenyangPeople’s Republic of China
  2. 2.Healthy Skin DermatologyTucsonUSA

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