Objectives: The pulsed dye laser (PDL) has long been the treatment of choice for port wine stains (PWS) and other vascular abnormalities. The goal of this round-table discussion is to consider a new generation of intense pulsed light (IPL) devices and understand how and why they rival traditional pulsed dye laser treatment of vascular and pigmentary abnormalities.

Introduction: Efforts have been made by PDL manufacturers to extend the the laser wavelength from 585 nm to 595-600 nm to improve depth of penetration to allow deeper vessels to be targeted with less purpura. Longer pulse durations and the advent of epidermal cooling have permitted the use of higher fluences and greater patient comfort.
The use of IPL was first suggested in 1998 and in subsequent years, despite encouraging clinical data and modification of irradiation parameters including pulse duration, fluence and wavelength, IPL technology has so far failed to win-over the die-hard PDL user.

Materials / method: Four companies with recent and innovative claims for their intense pulsed light (IPL) technology will participate in a round-table discussion. Three industry representatives and one dermatologist will respond to selected company slides presented by the session chairs to explore novel technology advances to explore the clinical and scientific evidence for these advances.

Results: IPL technology innovations for vascular treatments include: dual band filtering to reject low absorption wavebands, Rhodamine-doped xenon lamp source to focus energy in the PDL waveband, sub-millisecond pulse durations to mimic the PDL pulse duration and manipulation of the spatial and temporal IPL pulse profile.

Conclusion: Evidence-based clinical and scientific results confirm that modified IPL technology can match PDL clinical outcomes and deliver a better side-effect profile than traditional PWS.

Disclosures

Did you receive any funding to support your research for this TOPIC?
No

Were you provided with any honoraria, payment or other compensation for your work on this study?
No

Do you have any financial relationship with any entity which may closely compete with the medications, materials or instruments covered by your study?
No

Do you own or have you applied for any patents in conjunction with the instruments, medications or materials discussed in your study?
No

This work was not supported by any direct or non direct funding. It is under the author's own responsability