Evaluation of the 1,540-nm Erbium:Glass Laser in the Treatment of Inflammatory Facial Acne

Evaluation of the 1,540-nm Erbium:Glass Laser in the Treatment of Inflammatory Facial Acne
July 2007
To cite this article: MELISSA A. BOGLE MD, JEFFREY S. DOVER MD, FRCPC, KENNETH A. ARNDT MD, SERGE MORDON PHD (2007)
Evaluation of the 1,540-nm Erbium:Glass Laser in the Treatment of Inflammatory Facial Acne
Dermatologic Surgery 33 (7), 810Ò817.
doi:10.1111/j.1524-4725.2007.33174.x

MELISSA A. BOGLE, MD*
*The Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Center of Houston, Houston, Texas; SkinCare Physicians, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; , JEFFREY S. DOVER, MD, FRCPCSkinCare Physicians, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; , KENNETH A. ARNDT, MD?SkinCare Physicians, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts; Department of Dermatology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; ?Department of Medicine (Dermatology), Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire; Department of Dermatology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; , AND SERGE MORDON, PHD??INSERM, Lille, France

Address correspondence to: Melissa Bogle, MD, The Laser and Cosmetic Surgery Center of Houston, 3700 Buffalo Speedway #700, Houston, TX 77098, or e-mail: mabogle@hotmail.com
Quantel Medical (France) supplied funding and equipment for the study.

Abstract
BACKGROUND The erbium:glass laser is approved to treat inflammatory acne on the back.

OBJECTIVE This aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the 1,540-nm erbium:glass laser in the treatment of moderate to severe inflammatory acne on the face.

METHODS AND MATERIALS An erbium:glass laser (Aramis, Quantel Medical, Clermont-Ferrand, France) was used to treat 15 patients with moderate to severe acne four times at 2-week intervals. Active lesions were first treated with six pulses at 10 J/cm2. The entire face was then treated with a single pass using bursts of four pulses at 10 J/cm2. Sebum measurements were performed. Six patients continued in a double-arm study to determine whether an additional treatment at 6 months would prolong the lesion-free period. Final evaluation was at 9 months.

RESULTS At 6-month follow-up, patients rated improvement as 68%, and the mean investigator improvement assessment was 78%. Sebum measurements did not change. No patients required anesthesia, and no side effects were observed. A single retreatment session 6 months after the initial course held clearance at 80% at 9-month follow-up, whereas patients without retreatment had 72% clearance.

CONCLUSION Treatment of inflammatory facial acne with the 1,540-nm erbium:glass laser is effective and relatively painless. Papules, pustules, and nodules all respond well to therapy. Additional treatment sessions may prolong the lesion-free period, and maintenance therapy should be included as a part of the treatment course.

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