Cosmetic dermal ablation with the erbium : YAG laser

The erbium:YAG laser (wavelength 2940 nm; pulse duration 0.350 ms; pulse en ergy 0.1-1.7 J) allows vaporization of very thin skin layers without scarri ng and minimal lateral thermal injury due to an extremely short pulse durat ion. It permits exact ablation of relatively large areas of facial skin. We report our results with 216 patients following treatment for different fac ial lesions (facial wrinkles, acne scars, syringomas, and circumscribed seb aceous gland hyperplasia) using a new erbium:YAG laser system. Good-to-exce llent cosmetic results were obtained in these patients. Our findings show t hat the erbium:YAG laser is an elegant and promising new method for the tre atment of facial lesions.