Vitiligo

About Excimer Laser

The Excimer Laser offers a revolutionary new treatment for patients suffering from vitiligo, white scars, lightening of the skin from previous laser treatments, trauma, or other causes. This laser uses a carefully focused beam of light delivered through a sophisticated fiber optic device. The Excimer system allows the practitioner to use high doses of UVB light necessary to only treat the lighter skin, while minimizing the risk of exposure to the healthy, pigmented skin. Remissions are expected to last months to even years.

Benefits

• Treats vitiligo
• Painless treatments
• Relief without messy creams and daily skin care regimen
• Other benefits include: reduction of psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis

Alternatives

Cosmetic Makeup, Self-Tanners, Skin Dyes: safe, often recommended for kids, though time-consuming to apply, needs to be reapplied, difficult to obtain a natural looking result.

Prescription Topical Medications: Corticosteroid creams, Elidel (pimecrolimus) cream, Protopic (tacrolimus) Ointment can repigment skin. Topical corticosteroid creams have possible side effects, such as skin atrophy, where skin becomes thin, dry and fragile.

Light Box Treatment: Uses light to repigment the skin. Light box is used to treat more widespread vitiligo, whereas the excimer laser used to treat smaller areas. Works best on the face; least effective on hands and feet. Requires a time commitment. Patients need 2 to 3 treatments per week for several weeks.

PUVA Light Therapy: UVA light and a medicine called psoralen can restore skin color. Psoralen can affect the eyes, so this treatment requires eye exams before starting treatment. To help prevent serious side effects, patients need to be carefully monitored.

Surgery: Patients can choose this option when light therapy and medicines applied to the skin don’t work in adults whose vitiligo is stable (not chaining for at least 6 months). Most procedures involve removing unaffected skin or skin cells and placing where pigmented skin is desired. Procedure can be effective for up to 95 percent of cases.

Depigmentation: Bleaching creams that remove pigment in the skin, leaving the patient with white skin. Few patients choose this alternative.

How Does it Work?
The excimer laser system is light-years ahead of other vitiligo treatments. Using a carefully focused beam of laser light delivered through a sophisticated fiber-optic delivery system, the Excimer system is designed to repigment unsightly lighter skin tones. Because it concentrates light on active lesions, Excimer allows your doctor to deliver the high-exposure doses necessary, without risk of damage to healthy skin. On the first visit, your provider will test your skin to determine your optimum dosage level. Then the Excimer hand-piece is moved over the affected area, applying laser light at your determined dose. Depending on the area to be treated this only takes a few minutes.

Who is a Candidate?
All skin types.

Safety & Side Effects
The laser has been proven to be safe when used properly. The specific risks and the suitability of these procedures for a given individual can be determined only at the time of consultation. All surgical procedures have some degree of risk. Minor complications that do not affect the outcome occur occasionally. Blistering, change of pigmentation and scarring is very rare.

Recovery Time
None Usually. Treated areas may be pink for a few days.

Does it Hurt?
Most patients feel no pain or discomfort during the treatment. A few report feeling a warm sensation, like a mild sunburn, at the site of the lesion. No anesthesia is necessary.

Before Treatment Instructions
None.

After Treatment Instructions
Avoid excessive sun exposure.

Who Performs the Treatments?
Our Physicians, physician assistants and registered nurses perform the procedure.