Review of laser and light therapy in the treatment of oculofacial pathology

Table 1 Light and laser applications

Type of laser/light	Specific type	Tissue target chromophore	Applications	Advantages	Disadvantages
IPL		Hemoglobin, melanin	Telangiectasias, pigmented lesions, hair removal, skin resurfacing	Not invasive/not a laser/light based	Not an option for darker skin types
PDT			Fine wrinkles, telangiectasias, hyper pigmentation	Treatment of specific areas, no damage to surrounding tissues	Pain during treatment
Ablative	CO2	Water	Skin resurfacing, scars, lesions	Excellent results, especially in skin resurfacing	Prolonged postoperative period, increased risk for side effects (erythema, dyspigmentation)
	Er:YAG	Water	Wrinkles
	Diode	Melanin	Hair removal, resurfacing
Non ablative	QS Nd:YAG	Melanin	Tattoo removal, pigment lesions	Less aggressive, low risk for side effects	Less effective when compared to ablative lasers
	QS alexandrite	Melanin	Tattoo removal, pigment lesions
	QS ruby	Melanin	Tattoo removal, pigment lesions
	QS frequency-doubled Nd:YAG	Melanin, hemoglobin	Pigmented lesions, red tattoos
	Pulsed dye (green)	Melanin, hemoglobin	Pigmented lesions, red tattoos, hemangiomas
	Argon	Melanin, hemoglobin	Telangiectasias, PWS
Fractionated	Ablative	Water	Dyspigmentation, acne, traumatic scarring, rhytides, skin resurfacing	Quick recovery	Erythema, edema, hyper-hypo-pigmentation, herpes simplex viral reactivation, bacterial infection
	Non ablative	Melanin, hemoglobin	Melasma, acne scars, hair removal, skin resurfacing

IPL: Intense pulsed light; PDT: Photodynamic therapy; Er:YAG: Erbium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet; Nd:YAG: Neodymium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet.