Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (Quantum SR) – Asian Experience

Introduction: Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) is a revolutionary milestone in the treatment of photo-damaged skin. It is a broad spectrum light that stimulates deeper layers of the skin to correct degenerative changes in ageing and sun-damaged skin without any down time. Problems such as sagging skin, telangiectasia, pigmentary lesions, large pores, scars, oiliness, acne and striae can be addressed with different parameters. The light, at various wavelengths, affects target tissues such as collagen, pigmentation, blood vessels, scarred tissues, oil glands, etc. at different depths without damaging the epidermis. Not everyone is a candidate for this treatment. Traditionally, an ideal patient would be of white European descent with elastic, non-oily skin. Thus, dermatologists were hesitant to treat Asian skin due to adverse effects noted such as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and scarring. The objective of this study proves that Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) Therapy is effective for Asian skin with minimal complications even with constant exposure to sunlight. Review of Related Literature: Intense Pulsed Light therapy has been previously done in Asian patients and concluded to be both safe and effective. In a study done by [1] Negishi et al., photorejuvenation was done on skin types IV & V. They found „good“ to „excellent“ improvement on >90% of patients with hyperpigmentation, >80% in patients with telangiectasia, and >60% in skin texture after 3–6 treatments. Only 4% of cases developed complications. These were hyperemia with blister formation but eventually healed within 5 days without leaving any scars, hyper- or hypopigmentation. No post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation was observed even on patients with pigmented lesions. Several studies using IPL were successfully done for patients with pigmentations. Kawada et al., concluded that IPL is a well-tolerated therapy for solar lentigines and ephelides, with patients showing more than 50% improvement. Similarly, in a study by Moreno et al, 76–100%(excellent) clearance was obtained for superficial lesions (ephelides, [abstract truncated at 300 words]