Use of onion extract, heparin, allantoin gel in prevention of scarring in chinese patients having laser removal of tattoos: a prospective randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: With rapid advancement in cutaneous laser therapy, Q-switched lasers have become the standard treatment for tattoo removal. The longer wavelength Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is used when removing tattoos in darker skin patients to avoid scarring and permanent pigment changes. Nevertheless, the local experience revealed that nearly 25% of the Chinese patients developed scarring. Meanwhile, multiple clinical studies have shown that Contractubex gel (Merz Pharma, Frankfurt, Germany) was effective in the treatment and prevention of hypertrophic scars and keloids. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of Contractubex gel in the prevention of scarring after laser removal of tattoos in Chinese patients. METHODS: A total of 120 Chinese patients with 144 professional blue-black tattoos were recruited into the study. They were randomly assigned into the Contractubex group or the control group. All patients were treated with a QS 1,064-nm Nd:YAG laser using a 3-mm spot size, a 10-Hz repeat rate, a pulse duration of 6 nanoseconds, and fluences that ranged from 3.6 to 4.8 J/cm2 (mean fluence, 4.2 J/cm2). The treated areas were assessed 3 months after the last treatments for clinical clearance and complications. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients with 61 tattoos in the Contractubex group were able to achieve a mean clearing rate of 82.3+/-11.6%. There were 7 tattoos in 7 patients that developed scarring, 4 patients had permanent hypopigmentation, and 3 patients had transient hyperpigmentation. In contrast, 55 patients with 68 tattoos in the control group had a mean clearing rate of 80.4+/-11.3%. Among them, 16 tattoos in 14 patients developed scarring, 4 patients had permanent hypopigmentation, and 5 patients had transient hyperpigmentation. Although there was no significant difference in age, sex, fluence, treatment session, and clinical clearance between the two groups, the Contractubex group had a statistically significantly lower rate of scarring than the control group (p<.05). CONCLUSION: Contractubex gel is effective in scar prevention in Chinese patients having laser removal of tattoos.

Treatment of port wine stains with intense pulsed light: a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that intense pulsed light can be useful in treating port wine stains that were resistant to previous pulsed dye laser therapy. Asian persons with high epidermal melanin context can be at a higher risk of complication. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to conduct a prospective trial to assess the efficacy and complication of intense pulsed light in the treatment of port wine stains in Chinese patients. METHODS: Twenty-two Chinese patients with port wine stains without previous treatment were recruited to receive intense pulsed light source therapy for five to seven treatments at intervals of 3 to 4 weeks. Patient demographics, skin type, characteristics of port wine stains including color and location, treatment parameters, degree of pain caused by intense pulsed light treatment, percentage of clearing, and treatment complications were recorded and entered into a database. A questionnaire was conducted to assess the influence of treatment on daily activity and the intensity of pain experienced during treatment. RESULTS: There were 17 female and 5 male patients. Their ages ranged from 6 to 45 years with a mean age of 21.8+/-10.1 years. More than 90% of patients had more than 25% of clearing and the majority of patients (50%) had 25% to 50% of clearing. Although 40% of the patients showed more than 50% clinical clearance, 9% of the patients were able to achieve more than 75% clearing. The only 2 patients with less than 25% clearing had nodular port wine stains and no patient was able to achieve complete clearing. The procedures were well tolerated with a mean pain score of 2.1+/-0.9 and the treatment had no influence on daily activity. One patient developed blisters and 6 patients had swelling for more than 24 hr that all resolved within 1 week without leaving permanent marks. They have been followed up from 12 to 27 months and there was no long-term complication. CONCLUSION: Intense pulsed light can be effective in treating port wine stains in Asian patients. In experienced hands, complications can be low and should be considered as one of the therapeutic options.

Prospective study of pulsed dye laser in conjunction with cryogen spray cooling for treatment of port wine stains in Chinese patients.

BACKGROUND: Pulsed dye laser (PDL) in conjunction with cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is effective in improving efficacy and safety for treatment of port wine stains (PWSs) in whites. However, for dark-skinned patients such as Chinese, only retrospective studies have been performed. OBJECTIVES: To compare prospectively clinical efficacy in terms of blanching and acute and long-term adverse effects of PDL alone and PDL-CSC for treatment of PWSs in Chinese patients. METHODS: Thirty-five Chinese patients (13 males and 22 females) were recruited, and 131 treatments were performed. Half of the test area on the PWS was treated with PDL alone, and the contralateral half was treated with PDL-CSC. The degree of PWS blanching was objectively assessed by spectrophotometer. Skin textural changes were detected by cutometer. All measurements were taken at baseline and before each subsequent laser treatment. Patients were interviewed immediately after treatment and again the following week using a visual analog scale questionnaire to assess the degree of pain and swelling. Occurrence of blisters was noted during each follow-up visit. Patients were evaluated for evidence of long-term adverse effects such as dyspigmentation and scarring after three treatments. RESULTS: Statistically significant higher fluences were used on the PDL-CSC-treated group. The percentage change in the spectrophotometer a* value was significantly greater using PDL-CSC, indicating that there was more PWS blanching after treatment. There was no significant difference in the incidence of skin textural changes after three treatments with PDL alone or PDL-CSC. The immediate pain scores were significantly higher for PDL alone than with PDL-CSC. Blisters were significantly more common on the area treated using PDL alone than PDL-CSC. The overall incidence of long-term adverse effects was not significantly different between the PDL alone and PDL-CSC treatments. PDL-CSC was also the preferred treatment modality for most patients. CONCLUSIONS: PDL-CSC was more effective than PDL alone for blanching of PWS in Chinese patients. Moreover, PDL-CSC was better tolerated and resulted in a lower incidence of acute adverse effects such as blistering.

Prospective study on the treatment of postburn hyperpigmentation by intense pulsed light.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Postburn hyperpigmentation is a common phenomenon among Asian especially over grafted areas and sometimes over donor sites and healed wounds without skin graft. This condition is difficult to treat and can cause severe psychological distress. Intense pulsed light (IPL) has been used to treat melanocytic lesions with promising result. The role of IPL in treating postburn hyperpigmentation has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and complication of IPL in the treatment of postburn hyperpigmentation prospectively. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen Chinese patients with postburn hyperpigmentation were treated by IPL. There were 14 females and 5 males. Their age ranged from 8 to 51 years with a mean age of 29.4 +/- 11.6 years. The cutoff filters of 550, 570, and 590 nm were used for 3-7 treatments at intervals of 3-4 weeks. Patients were treated with an energy fluence of 28-46 J/cm(2), pulse width of 1.7-4 milliseconds, double pulse mode, and a delay of 15-40 milliseconds. RESULTS: Treatment results and complications were evaluated and scored after each treatment. Over 78% of the patients showed more than 50% clinical clearance and nearly 32% of the patients were able to achieve more than 75% clearing. Although two patients had no clinical response, one patient had 100% clearing. Three patients developed blisters and one patient had erythema that all resolved within 1 week without leaving permanent marks. They have been followed-up from 11-32 months and there was no recurrence of the hyperpigmentation. CONCLUSIONS: IPL is effective and safe in treating postburn hyperpigmentation in Asian patients.

Laser treatment of congenital facial port-wine stains: long-term efficacy and complication in Chinese patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Pulsed dye laser (585 nm, 450 micros) and variable pulse width frequency doubled Nd:YAG 532 nm laser have been proven to be effective in treating vascular lesions in Caucasians especially in facial port-wine stain. Their roles in dark-skinned Asian have not been determined. The objective of this study was to assess the long-term outcome and complication of laser treatment of congenital facial port-wine stain in Chinese patients retrospectively. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: Files of all patients with port-wine stains who had received laser treatment in a major regional laser center in a 5-year period were reviewed. Chinese patients with congenital facial port-wine stains were recruited for the study. They were called back for questionnaire assessment of their degree of clearance and clinical examination for treatment complication. Detail demographics, result of questionnaire and clinical examination were entered into a database and statistical analyses were conducted where applicable. RESULTS: One hundred and seven patients with congenital facial port-wine stain were recruited for the study. Thirty-six patients had received PDL treatment, 40 patients had VP532 treatment and 31 patients had been treated by both laser systems. A total of 665 treatment sessions had been performed with an average of 6.1 +/- 2.8 sessions (range 3-12). They had been followed-up from 2 to 5 years with a mean period of 3.4 +/- 1.1 years. Over 60% of patients had more than 25% of clearing and the majority of patients (41.1%) had 25-50% of clearing. Less than one-quarter of patients (23%) experienced a clearing more than 50% and no patient had complete clearing. There was no significant difference in the subjective assessment of clearing between patients that had different forms of laser treatments. No patient had recurrence of pigmentation after treatment. Fourteen percent of patients experienced complications and the majority of them had pigmentary changes. Sex, age, number of treatment session, and type of laser machine used were not related to a higher complication rate using the multiple regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Chinese patients were less responsive to laser treatment with higher complication rate. In addition, more treatment sessions were required to achieve a maximum clearing. However, most of our patients were satisfied with laser treatment (Patient Satisfaction Score=7.25). Dark-skinned patients should not be excluded from laser therapy provided that treatment expectations and risks are fully discussed.