Welcome to Our 7th AnnualLaser Surgery Issue

T his month, we bring to you our annual laser surgery issue. Of course, it’s not all about lasers anymore. Light-based technologies, radiofrequency energy and light-emitting diodes have entered the realm traditionally occupied by lasers alone. In fact, we probably should consider changing the name of our annual special issue to reflect the broadened scope of technologies now available to dermatologists. While the name of the issue may only reveal the tip of the iceberg, this month’s journal delves deeper to discuss many of the new emerging technologies available to you and offers insight into how leading dermatologists are employing these useful technologies. Here’s a glimpse at what you’ll find inside. Treatment Tip: When treating facial telangiectasia, you might want to consider another tool in addition to the pulsed dye laser. According to one leading dermatologist, “the effectiveness of the pulsed green light 532 nm KTP is causing us to rethink the pulsed dye laser as the gold standard treatment for telangiectasia and facial erythema.” For more information about this, see page 43. Treatment Tip: When treating actinic keratosis, consider one dermatologist’s success with a new protocol using 5-aminolevulinic acid and photodynamic therapy (ALA/PDT). Here’s what this physician has found: “Although initially approved for the treatment of spot actinic keratosis, ALA/PDT has now been found to be extremely useful in the pre-emptive treatment of all of the subclinical actinic keratoses at the same time. This treatment provides a clean slate, so that it prevents future actinic keratoses,” explained one leading dermatologist. For more information, see page 44. Treatment Tip: Why is it that tattoo ink is so difficult to completely remove? The following comment may provide some insight. “The FDA currently lists tattoo inks as “color additives” for use on the skin. This is because ink manufacturers are not required to list the composition of their products, so in the vast majority of cases, neither tattoo artists nor patients have any idea of the exact make-up of the tattoo ink.” For more information about the history of tattoos and early methods of removing them, see part one of a two-part article that begins on page 50. Treatment Tip: According to one well-known dermatologist, you need to take caution when performing hair removal on a patient who is taking retinoids. He offered this advice: “The retinoids have some inhibitory effect on wound healing and though hair removal is a relatively minor procedure, I would proceed very cautiously with treatment.” For more information on numerous treatment tips when performing hair removal, see the article beginning on page 64. We hope that you find many other useful treatment tips in this month’s issue. Feel free to e-mail me any of your own tips for treating patients, if you’d like to share them. Larisa Hubbs Executive Editor lhubbs@hmpcommunications.com

T his month, we bring to you our annual laser surgery issue. Of course, it’s not all about lasers anymore. Light-based technologies, radiofrequency energy and light-emitting diodes have entered the realm traditionally occupied by lasers alone. In fact, we probably should consider changing the name of our annual special issue to reflect the broadened scope of technologies now available to dermatologists. While the name of the issue may only reveal the tip of the iceberg, this month’s journal delves deeper to discuss many of the new emerging technologies available to you and offers insight into how leading dermatologists are employing these useful technologies. Here’s a glimpse at what you’ll find inside. Treatment Tip: When treating facial telangiectasia, you might want to consider another tool in addition to the pulsed dye laser. According to one leading dermatologist, “the effectiveness of the pulsed green light 532 nm KTP is causing us to rethink the pulsed dye laser as the gold standard treatment for telangiectasia and facial erythema.” For more information about this, see page 43. Treatment Tip: When treating actinic keratosis, consider one dermatologist’s success with a new protocol using 5-aminolevulinic acid and photodynamic therapy (ALA/PDT). Here’s what this physician has found: “Although initially approved for the treatment of spot actinic keratosis, ALA/PDT has now been found to be extremely useful in the pre-emptive treatment of all of the subclinical actinic keratoses at the same time. This treatment provides a clean slate, so that it prevents future actinic keratoses,” explained one leading dermatologist. For more information, see page 44. Treatment Tip: Why is it that tattoo ink is so difficult to completely remove? The following comment may provide some insight. “The FDA currently lists tattoo inks as “color additives” for use on the skin. This is because ink manufacturers are not required to list the composition of their products, so in the vast majority of cases, neither tattoo artists nor patients have any idea of the exact make-up of the tattoo ink.” For more information about the history of tattoos and early methods of removing them, see part one of a two-part article that begins on page 50. Treatment Tip: According to one well-known dermatologist, you need to take caution when performing hair removal on a patient who is taking retinoids. He offered this advice: “The retinoids have some inhibitory effect on wound healing and though hair removal is a relatively minor procedure, I would proceed very cautiously with treatment.” For more information on numerous treatment tips when performing hair removal, see the article beginning on page 64. We hope that you find many other useful treatment tips in this month’s issue. Feel free to e-mail me any of your own tips for treating patients, if you’d like to share them. Larisa Hubbs Executive Editor lhubbs@hmpcommunications.com