TY - JOUR

T1 - New lasers and light sources - old and new risks?

AU - Paasch, Uwe

AU - Schwandt, Antje

AU - Seeber, Nikolaus

AU - Kautz, Gerd

AU - Grunewald, Sonja

AU - Haedersdal, Merete

N1 - © 2017 Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft (DDG). Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2017/5

Y1 - 2017/5

N2 - Recent developments (new wavelengths, treatment concepts, and combinations) in the field of lasers, intense pulsed light (IPL), LED, as well as new energy and light sources have opened up new therapeutic options that extend beyond mere aesthetic indications. Thus, while fractional lasers used to be employed to merely treat wrinkles, the same devices - in the context of laser-assisted drug delivery - have now become important tools in the treatment of scars, field cancerization, and epithelial tumors. The requirements posed to physicians, both with respect to establishing the indication and conducting treatment, have been growing along with the increase in technological complexity as well as the rising number of comorbidities and comedications in a patient population that continues to age. At the same time, home-use devices have been introduced for a variety of indications. These devices are characterized by low power and special safety features aimed at preventing accidents, risks, and side effects. Despite the reduced efficacy of such self-treatment devices, there is an increased risk of misuse, given that the basic prerequisite for adequate treatment cannot be ensured, to wit, the exact diagnosis and therapeutic indication. Consequently, during hair removal or anti-wrinkle treatment, pigmented lesions and cutaneous neoplasms may be altered, thus giving rise to expected, unexpected and new side effects and complications. In the aforementioned setting, it is important that all potential users of these new technologies be properly trained in a manner that ensures those treated a maximum of safety and efficacy in accordance with the guiding principle "diagnosis certa - ullae therapiae fundamentum".

AB - Recent developments (new wavelengths, treatment concepts, and combinations) in the field of lasers, intense pulsed light (IPL), LED, as well as new energy and light sources have opened up new therapeutic options that extend beyond mere aesthetic indications. Thus, while fractional lasers used to be employed to merely treat wrinkles, the same devices - in the context of laser-assisted drug delivery - have now become important tools in the treatment of scars, field cancerization, and epithelial tumors. The requirements posed to physicians, both with respect to establishing the indication and conducting treatment, have been growing along with the increase in technological complexity as well as the rising number of comorbidities and comedications in a patient population that continues to age. At the same time, home-use devices have been introduced for a variety of indications. These devices are characterized by low power and special safety features aimed at preventing accidents, risks, and side effects. Despite the reduced efficacy of such self-treatment devices, there is an increased risk of misuse, given that the basic prerequisite for adequate treatment cannot be ensured, to wit, the exact diagnosis and therapeutic indication. Consequently, during hair removal or anti-wrinkle treatment, pigmented lesions and cutaneous neoplasms may be altered, thus giving rise to expected, unexpected and new side effects and complications. In the aforementioned setting, it is important that all potential users of these new technologies be properly trained in a manner that ensures those treated a maximum of safety and efficacy in accordance with the guiding principle "diagnosis certa - ullae therapiae fundamentum".

KW - Equipment Design

KW - Evidence-Based Medicine

KW - Humans

KW - Laser Therapy/instrumentation

KW - Lasers

KW - Low-Level Light Therapy/instrumentation

KW - Skin Diseases/therapy

KW - Technology Assessment, Biomedical

KW - Treatment Outcome

U2 - 10.1111/ddg.13238

DO - 10.1111/ddg.13238

M3 - Review

C2 - 28485872

VL - 15

SP - 487

EP - 496

JO - JDDG - Journal of the German Society of Dermatology

JF - JDDG - Journal of the German Society of Dermatology

SN - 1610-0379

IS - 5

ER -