Private: Non-ablative Lasers with Corticosteroids

Compare To Other Treatments

The charts below show the chances of developing various side effects from non-ablative laser with corticosteroid treatment.1-4 For some side effects, we currently do not have enough data to provide a percentage.

Certain/Likely Side Effects

SHORT TERM Painup to
100%
SHORT TERM Redness (erythema)up to
100%
SHORT TERM Swelling (edema)up to
100%
SHORT TERM Skin darkening (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation)up to 11%

Studies:

Two studies have looked at the side effects of treatment with non-ablative fractional laser with corticosteroid treatment.

  • Study 1:

    • Authors: Guo et al.1
    • Total # of patients: 38
    • # of female patients: 25
    • # of male patients: 13
    • Age of patients: 23-65
    • Laser type and settings: 1565-nm non-ablative fractional laser device; spot diameter 10-16 mm, energy 25-35 mJ/cm2 light point density 150-200 spot/cm2
    • Corticosteriod: Topical betamethasone
    • Duration of treatment and follow-up: 6 treatments, follow-up for 3 months
    • Side effects:
      • Skin darkening (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation): 10.7%
      • Transient warmth: (incidence not reported)
      • Redness (erythema): (incidence not reported)
      • Swelling (edema): (incidence not reported)
  • Study 2:

    • Authors: Shin et al.2
    • Total # of patients: 38
    • # of female patients: 21
    • # of male patients: 17
    • Age of patients: 18-62
    • Laser type and settings: 1550‐nm fractional erbium‐glass laser; 50 mJ/spot and 40 spots/cm2
    • Corticosteroid: Intralesional 40 mg/ml triamcinolone
    • Duration of treatment and follow-up: Multiple treatments (median 6.95), follow-up for 6 months
    • Side effects:
      • No side effects were reported.

Study 1: In a study published in 2022 in the journal Lasers in Medical Science, Guo and colleagues treated 38 patients with early hypertrophic and keloid scars with non-ablative fractional laser and betamethasone cream. Patients received 6 treatments at 1-month intervals and were followed up for 5 months to discuss side effects. The treatment was generally well tolerated with the appearance of transient warmth, redness, and swelling in some patients. The major side effect seen in 10.7% of treated patients was skin darkening which resolved by the end of the follow-up period.1

Study 2: In a study published in 2019 in the International Wound Journal, Shin and colleagues treated 38 patients with hypertrophic scars with a 1550‐nm fractional erbium‐glass laser followed by 40 mg/ml of intralesional triamcinolone injection. Patients received multiple treatments (median 6.95) until satisfactory results, at intervals of 1 month, and were followed up for the additional 6 months. No side effects were reported during this period.2

References
  1. Guo Q, Xu P, Ye J. Observation on the efficacy of 1565-nm non-ablative fractional laser combined with compound betamethasone topical application on the treatment of early scar in Chinese patients. Lasers Med Sci. 37(7), 2947-53 (2022).
  2. Shin J, Cho JT, Park SI, Jung SN. Combination therapy using non-ablative fractional laser and intralesional triamcinolone injection for hypertrophic scars and keloids treatment. Int Wound J. 16(6), 1450-6 (2019).