Benign Pigmented Lesions

Patients usually want to have benign pigmented skin defects removed for aesthetic reasons. The ideal treatment must therefore be effective and at the same time not cause any cicatricial or permanent dyschromic effects. Bearing this in mind, the use of the very latest laser or pulsed light systems is the ideal method for the removal of numerous pigmented lesions. As a result of ongoing technological research and development, Deka, always a leader in the laser and pulsed light sector, has devised specific systems for different wavelengths and pulse durations that can selectively target and destroy the melanin contained in pigmented lesions.

Pigmented lesions can be classed as epidermal, dermal and mixed, depending on the location of the pigment in the skin.

The superficial epidermal lesions (freckles, ephelids, milk-coffee stains, several types of nevi and sun spots), are the easiest to remove without any scarring. They can be effectively treated using relatively short wavelengths such as the Nd:YAG duplicated in frequency (532 nm) or pulsed light by selecting the most suitable filter in relation to the skin phototype (5 filters are available with spectra ranging from 500-1200nm to 650-1200nm).

Dermal lesions found deeper down (Nevi of Ota, Nevi of Ito and Hori, and Mongolian spots), require a wavelength of 1064 nm for greater penetration into the skin.

In the case of mixed dermal-epidermal lesions it is advisable to treat the epidermal component first and once this has been mitigated, the laser can then be used to penetrate deeper into the dermal component.

Thanks to the versatility of Deka's pulsed lights and Q-switched laser technology with two wavelengths (532nm and 1064nm), a system for selectively targeting the melanin at different depths in an efficacious and non-invasive manner has been developed.

Finally, to eliminate superficial epidermal lesions, it is also possible to use fractional micro-ablative systems (such as the SmartXide DOT CO₂ laser system) and non-fractional systems (like the Er:YAG Smart 2940 Plus).