Introduction: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatological problems in Asia. While the disease itself is self-limited and temporary, the dystrophic texture changes after the inflammatory process are often a serious aesthetic concern. Many energy-based devices have seen good results in treating atrophic acne scars, and the picosecond laser with specific lens is one of the newer options, and lack reports on its long-term efficacy.
Materials and methods: We report three Taiwanese cases who, to our knowledge, consist of the longest clinical follow-up times for atrophic scar treatment with the 755 nm diffractive lens picosecond laser. Photographs were compared on a by-session basis by two blinded dermatologists independent of the primary treating physician and given an improvement range of <25%, 25%-50%, 50%-75%, and >75%.
Results: While there are minor (<25%) improvements in all cases after the first four treatment sessions, all three cases saw the greatest improvement in skin texture (>75% in two cases, 50%-75% in one) when they were followed up 6, 13.5, and 28 months post-last treatment.
Conclusion: Our results demonstrate excellent, long-onset, and long-term efficacy of the picosecond laser with diffractive lens in the treatment of acne atrophic scars. It also demonstrates the safe use of the device on Asian skins without symptoms of postinflammatory hyperpigmentation.
Keywords: 755 nm; atrophic acne scars; long-term effect; picosecond laser.
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