Types of Laser Treatments & Injuries:

LASER HAIR TREATMENT

Dermatology practices have become intertwined with many laser treatment centers, using their practice and patients as a source of business to rotate into laser practices. Many patients are taken advantage of in this way in the context of acne treatment, knowing these patients desperately want a quick fix to their acne related issues. Common mistakes from these practices include failing to take a biopsy of the acne or rash you are treating prior to laser treatment, failing to perform a “patch test” or “test spot” to test the laser on your skin type before beginning laser treatment, and continuing with treatment after your skin has already shown signs of responding negatively to the treatment you have previously received. Patients in this situation are often told that the poor outcomes they have experienced are “normal” and that the condition will improve and disappear to avoid blame for the above mistakes. 

Many turn to laser treatment to treat skin issues that have been caused from overexposure to sun and the elements. In this scenario, the patient’s skin type is critically important to take into account with regards to the laser used and laser settings applied for treating the patient. The patient’s ethnicity and skin type also is directly linked to the risks of these treatments, with African-Americans and patients with darker complexions having increased risk to scarring, hypopigmentation (discolored white skin following treatment), and skin deformities generally as a result of these procedures. These risks are supposed to be explained to patients facing these increased risks, but often are not in a one size fits all approach taken by many laser treatment practices.

Patients suffering from stretch marks have grown to become included in the realm of laser skin care. Patients often present to these practices desperately wishing to rid their body of these stretch marks, and are promised an almost immediate solution. Notably, many laser treatment practices fail to inform and recommend conservative treatment options to their patients prior to laser treatment in this scenario. Creams and simply time often have the ability to largely reduce the appearance of stretch marks, if not eliminate them entirely. Additionally, the type of laser used for treating these marks is important, as it is not a generic category of laser treatment where any laser will do. Patients that have suffered raised and irritated areas of skin in the areas they have been treated often are the victims of laser practices that have failed to consider and follow the standards set forth above.