Updates and advances in laser dermatology – overcoming complications and future directions: Ashraf Badawi
Touch Medical Media coverage of data presented at EADV 2023:
Dermatology lasers are applied in indications such as nail fungal infections, warts, benign treatments, and in aesthetic procedures. Recent advancements in laser dermatology include the concepts of rejuvenation and anti-ageing therapy, to improve the structure of the skin and prevent ageing.
It was a pleasure to talk with Expert Faculty member Dr. Ashraf Badawi, (Laser Institute, Cairo University, Egypt) around the latest advances and updates surrounding dermatology lasers, the complications associated with the use of lasers, and the future directions and challenges of laser therapy in dermatology.
The presentation ‘Dermatology Lasers updates, 2023’ (Presentation ID D3T07.3A) was presented at EADV 2023, Berlin, 11-14 October 2023 #EADVCongress.
Questions
- What are the latest advances and updates surrounding dermatology lasers and how do they impact patient care? (0:15)
- What complications are associated with the use of lasers, and what advances have been made in mitigating these? (1:17)
- In which dermatological indications are lasers the most advantageous? (2:01)
- How will the combination of lasers and aesthetic medicine improve patient outcomes? (2:42)
- What do you consider the future directions and challenges of laser therapy in dermatology? (3:34)
Disclosures: Ashraf Badawi has nothing to disclose in relation to this video interview.
Support: Interview and filming supported by Touch Medical Media Ltd. Interview conducted by Victoria Jones and Katey Gabrysch.
Filmed in coverage of the EADV Annual Meeting.
This content was developed by Touch Medical Media and is not affiliated with the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology (EADV) or the congress.
Click here for more content on aesthetics & for further EADV 2023 highlights visit here.
Transcript
What are the latest advances and updates surrounding dermatology lasers and how do they impact patient care? (0:15)
The latest advances are that now there is a new concept, which is the anti-aging concept. For the many previous years, we were waiting for the damage to happen, and then we started to correct it. Now we start to use the laser in a different way where we are working on the different layers of the skin with the objective of rejuvenation. What is the meaning of rejuvenation?
This is the restoration of the structure and the function of the skin. So we start to work with different types of lasers on different layers of the skin. So we will restore the structure and the function of the skin to how it was few years ago, improving the quality of the skin, improving the structure of the skin and this is going to be reflected on how the skin appearance improves in a way, which is not associated with downtime or complications and with quite quick results. So this is the anti-aging concept, which is becoming very popular now, rather than using something from outside the body. Which is sometimes changing the facial features or the structure of the skin.
What complications are associated with the use of lasers, and what advances have been made in mitigating these? (1:17)
Complications are things which we can see whether it was lasers or different techniques we work with, and there is a percentage of complications which we know with each procedure, we try to avoid them as much as possible, we know how to handle them in order not to have long term consequences. But there is another very important category, which is the professional errors. Professional errors are coming from lack of documentation, lack of training and this is what we can work on because it can be minimized down to zero percent.
So this is something which is really very important. That’s why educational activities in the field of laser applications are very important in order to minimize and eliminate the professional errors.
In which dermatological indications are lasers the most advantageous? (2:01)
Laser applications in dermatology are very wide range. It has medical applications like treatment of nail fungal infections, warts, certain types of benign treatment, benign pigmented lesions, and there are also aesthetic indications like treatment of active scars, hair reduction by laser, rejuvenation, and, dealing with the wrinkles, static wrinkles in the skin. So, today, the most popular is the rejuvenation, because we are able really to improve how the skin is looking in a very natural way and, without complications.
How will the combination of lasers and aesthetic medicine improve patient outcomes? (2:42)
If you are using, for example, the botulinum toxins in order to improve the dynamic wrinkles, this is not going to improve the structure of the other layers of the skin. So in this case, we need other modalities including lasers in order to work on the other, layers of the skin, along with using the botulinum toxins for that. Sometimes we do combinations with PRP injection in order to enhance the collagen’s duration and so on. But, of course, the practitioner has to, number one diagnose where is the problem in which layer of the skin? And then choose his tools and design the plan, which might be having combination of different techniques and technologies.
What do you consider the future directions and challenges of laser therapy in dermatology? (3:34)
I think the biggest challenge is the training and education of practitioners because in many cases, practitioners are buying lasers, and they are getting training from the laser company and this is not a professional, clinical training. They are trained on using that machine. However, it’s really very important to have a clinical training so that they understand the practical impact of the basics of using the lasers so that they are able to fine tune and know how to navigate with the laser machines to get the best results at each stage the patient is having.
Subtitles and transcript are autogenerated.
