Pulsed dye laser treatment of rosacea using a novel 15 mm diameter treatment beam

BACKGROUND: The pulsed‐dye laser has been used to treat facial redness and rosacea for decades. Recent advances in dye laser technology enable 50% higher output energies supporting 50% larger treatment areas, and beam‐diameters up to 15 mm with clinically‐relevant fluences. In this study, we investigate this novel pulsed‐dye laser using a 15 mm diameter beam for treatment of rosacea. METHODS: Twenty subjects with erythemato‐telangiectatic rosacea were enrolled in the study. A total of 4 monthly treatments were administered, first treating linear vessels with a 3 × 10 mm elliptical beam, then diffuse redness with a 15‐mm diameter circular beam. Blinded assessment of digital, cross‐polarized photographs taken 2 months following the last treatment was performed using an 11‐point clearance scale. RESULTS: Nineteen subjects completed the study. Blinded reviewers correctly identified baseline photos in 55 out of the total of 57 images (96.5%). The blinded reviewers scored 17 of the 19 subjects with an improvement greater than 40%, and 11 of the 19 subjects greater than 50%. The average improvement was 53.9%. Side effects were limited to mild edema, mild to moderate erythema, and mild to moderate bruising. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that a newly designed pulsed‐dye laser having a novel 15‐mm diameter treatment beam improves the appearance of rosacea with a favorable safety profile. Lasers Surg. Med. 50:808–812, 2018. © 2018 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.