Erbium:YAG laser resurfacing in patients with inflamed cystic acne

Inflammatory cystic acne has been treated by a variety of modalities including antibiotics, topical agents, isotretinoin and chemical peels with variable degrees of success. Erbium:YAG lasers have been used for the treatment of acne scarring and photoaged skin but have not been thought of as treatment for actively inflamed lesions.

We sought to ascertain the effectiveness of using low fluence erbium:YAG settings without topical anesthesia for the treatment of two patients with inflamed cystic acne.

Two female patients with type 4 skin of Hispanic (32 years old) and south Asian (21 years old) origin were treated with the 2940 erbium:YAG LaserPeel laser. The Hispanic patient was treated twice with a 2-month interval between treatments using the 200 mJ setting. The Asian patient had a combination of 200 and 400 mJ settings for her first treatment and 400 mJ for the subsequent two treatments. She was treated three times with an interval of 1 month between the first two treatments and a 2-month interval between the second and third treatments.

Both patients healed within 6 days of each treatment and demonstrated progressive improvement. Results were excellent in both.

Low fluence erbium:YAG facial resurfacing was effective for the treatment of inflamed cystic acne. Its use as a treatment modality should be further explored.