title: Improvement of facial acne scars by the 585 nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertrophic or erythematous scars (or both) have remained notoriously difficult to treat because of their persistence or recurrence after traditional therapies. Recently, the 585 nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser has been shown to be effective in treating similar traumatic and surgical scars.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to determine the effectiveness of the 585 nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser in the specific treatment of facial acne scars.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two patients with erythematous or hypertrophic facial acne scars were included in this Investigational Review Board-approved study. The 585 nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed-dye laser was used to treat scars on half of each patient's face, with the contralateral side used as control. Baseline, 6-week, and 6-month posttreatment photographs, erythema measurements made with reflectance spectrometry, and skin texture analyses were obtained from laser-irradiated and untreated scars. Clinical analyses were performed independently by two "blinded" observers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant clinical improvement was observed in laser-irradiated acne scars compared with the untreated (control) scars after one or two 585 nm pulsed-dye laser treatments. Erythema measurements and skin texture analyses of laser-treated scars approximated those obtained in the adjacent normal skin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The 585 nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed-dye laser can significantly improve the clinical appearance of erythematous or hypertrophic facial acne scars.
authors.affiliation: Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Alster
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: McMeekin
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D000328:Adult; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D004890:Erythema / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010781:Photography; D010789:Phototherapy; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology