Treatment of melasma by low-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

Background: Low-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd:YAG laser has recently been shown to be effective for the melasma treatment. Objective: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of low-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd: YAG laser treatment of melasma in Asian patients. Methods: Fifty patients with melasma underwent 15 weeks of weekly treatments, using a Q-switched Nd: YAG laser (RevLite; HOYA ConBio (R), Freemont, CA, USA) at 1064 nm with an 8-mm spot size, and a fluence of 2.8 J/cm(2). Patients and investigators subjectively evaluated the intensity of pigmentation after completion of 15 weekly treatments. The objective assessment was also performed with digital photographs and a pigment imaging tool (Janus (R), PSI Co., Ltd., KOREA). Results: Both patients and investigators rated the treatment outcome as "good improvement" on average with improvement rate of 50-74%. The pigment imaging technology system also confirmed the improvement of the pigmentation level on all three locations of the face. None of the 50 patients showed any signs of severe side effects during the course of the treatment. Conclusion: Low-fluence 1064 nm Q-switched Nd: YAG laser is an effective method to treat melasma without serious side effects in Asian patients.