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Side effects from dermatological laser treatment related to UV exposure and epidermal thickness: A murine experiment with the copper vapor laser
Author(s) -
Hædersdal Merete,
Therkildsen Pia,
BechThomsen Niels,
Poulsen Thomas,
Wulf Hans Christian
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1997)20:3<233::aid-lsm1>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - laser , epidermis (zoology) , stratum corneum , irradiation , hairless , scars , fibrosis , chemistry , dermatology , materials science , pathology , medicine , anatomy , optics , biochemistry , physics , nuclear physics
Background and Objective The intention of the present study was to clarify whether UV‐exposure prior to laser treatment of albino mouse skin may influence laser‐induced side effects and if a possible influence may be explained by epidermal thickening. Study Design/Materials and Methods: Albino, hairless mice were irradiated 0, 8, and 22 consecutive times with simulated solar UV (1.4 J.cm 2 per treatment). Subsequently, two areas on the back of the mice (1.26 cm 2 each) were treated with a copper vapor laser that was connected to a Hexascan. The beam diameter was 1 mm, pulse duration 200 msec, and intensities 0.6 W, 0.8 W, and 1.0 W. Laser‐induced wounds, scars, and histologically evaluated fibrosis were evaluated. Results We found that mice irradiated with UV before laser treatment developed smaller wounds, smaller texture change areas, and less fibrosis as compared with nonirradiated control groups, and significant, negative correlations were demonstrated between epidermal thicknesses (stratum corneum, the cellular part of epidermis, and the entire epidermis) and laser‐induced skin reactions. A dose response was obtained between laser intensities and laser‐induced skin reactions, which tended to be more severe in the cranial back location as compared with the caudal back location. Epidermal layers increased significantly after eight consecutive times of UV irradiation and increased to a steady level after 22 times of irradiation. Conclusion We conclude that UV exposure prior to laser treatment of albino mice reduced laser‐induced side‐effects, which could be explained by increased epidermal thickening. Variations in epidermal thickness might thus contribute to variations in clinical response to dermatological laser treatment with the copper vapor laser. Lasers Surg. Medicine 20:233–241, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.