Complications of aesthetic laser surgery

Aesthetic laser surgery is not risk free. It behooves the laser surgeon to become intimately familiar with the potential adverse effects of laser use to guard against and to minimize their occurrence. Moreover, patients must be thoroughly, clearly, and honestly educated about the procedure and its risks so that their expectations are realistic and so that any complications that do occur can be recognized early and treated appropriately. This review summarizes basic laser safety and discusses the nature of complications that may occur during continuous-wave, pulsed dye, pigment-specific, hair removal, and resurfacing laser procedures.