Laser Therapy for Brown Lesions
What is a pigmented lesion and which ones can be treated with laser?
The most commonly treated conditions are solar lentigines, also known as “age spots,” “liver spots” or “sun spots”; café au lait birthmarks; and freckles. These benign pigmented lesions are due to an excess of pigment in the skin, usually due to sunlight exposure and congenital factors. Age spots may appear as enlarged light freckles on the face and hands. Café au lait birthmarks may appear as light brown markings anywhere on the body and can be quite large.
What does the treatment involve?
Treatment varies from patient to patient depending on the type of lesion, size of the affected area, color of the patient’s skin and depth to which the abnormal pigment extends beneath the surface of the skin. Some lesions, such as “age spots,” will require only a few pulses, while others, such as café au lait birthmarks, will require more. Some lesions require re-treatment, necessitating multiple patient visits.
Is treatment with the laser painful?
Treatment with the laser is more comfortable and requires less recovery time than some other treatment methods. Most patients do not require anesthesia. In some very rare cases, depending on the nature and the location of the lesion and the patient’s age, the physician may elect to use some topical anesthesia. Pigmented lesions that have not been effectively removed by other treatments may respond well to our laser therapy, providing prior treatment did not cause excessive scarring or skin damage.
