title: Unconventional use of intense pulsed light.
abstract: According to the literature, intense pulsed light (IPL) represents a versatile tool in the treatment of some dermatological conditions (i.e., pigmentation disorders, hair removal, and acne), due to its wide range of wavelengths. The authors herein report on 58 unconventional but effective uses of IPL in several cutaneous diseases, such as rosacea (10 cases), port-wine stain (PWS) (10 cases), disseminated porokeratosis (10 cases), pilonidal cyst (3 cases), seborrheic keratosis (10 cases), hypertrophic scar (5 cases) and keloid scar (5 cases), Becker's nevus (2 cases), hidradenitis suppurativa (2 cases), and sarcoidosis (1 case). Our results should suggest that IPL could represent a valid therapeutic support and option by providing excellent outcomes and low side effects, even though it should be underlined that the use and the effectiveness of IPL are strongly related to the operator's experience (acquired by attempting at least one specific course on the use of IPL and one-year experience in a specialized centre). Moreover, the daily use of these devices will surely increase clinical experience and provide new information, thus enhancing long-term results and improving IPL effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, Coppito 2, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy ; Italian Society of Laser Dermatology (SILD), Via Nicolò dall'Arca 7, 70121 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Marcantonio
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crisman
authors.affiliation: Italian Society of Laser Dermatology (SILD), Via Nicolò dall'Arca 7, 70121 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cannarozzo
authors.affiliation: Italian Society of Laser Dermatology (SILD), Via Nicolò dall'Arca 7, 70121 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sannino
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Italy ; Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology, The Rockefeller University, New York City, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiricozzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chimenti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D062325:Intense Pulsed Light Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D056687:Off-Label Use; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult