THE STATE OF AESTHETIC DERMATOLOGY
Picosecond lasers: the next generation of short-pulsed lasers
Dec
2014
Vol. 33. No. 4
Selective photothermolysis, first discussed in the context of
targeted microsurgery in 1983, proposed that the optimal
parameters for specific thermal damage rely critically on
the duration over which energy is delivered to the tissue.
At that time, nonspecific thermal damage had been an
intrinsic limitation of all commercially available lasers,
despite efforts to mitigate this by a variety of compensatory
cooling mechanisms. Fifteen years later, experimental
picosecond lasers were first reported in the dermatological
literature to demonstrate greater efficacy over their
nanosecond predecessors in the context of targeted
destruction of tattoo ink. Within the last 4 years, more than
a decade after those experiments, the first commercially
available cutaneous picosecond laser unit became
available (Cynosure, Westford, Massachusetts), and
several pilot studies have demonstrated its utility in tattoo
removal. An experimental picosecond infrared laser has
also recently demonstrated a nonthermal tissue ablative
capability in soft tissue, bone, and dentin. In this article, we
review the published data pertaining to dermatology on
picosecond lasers from their initial reports to the present
as well as discuss forthcoming technology.
Semin Cutan Med Surg 33:164-168 © 2014 Frontline Medical
Communications
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