Hemifacial Rejuvenation Effect after Treatment of Nevus of Ota with the Q-switched Alexandrite Laser

Park, Eun Soo; Jung, Sung Gyun; Kim, Yong Bae

Abstract

Q-switched(QS) Lasers have been successfully used to treat nevus of Ota with a few complications. A 51 year old woman had nevus of Ota affecting the left half of her face from birth. During childhood and adolescence, her nevus enlarged and has remained stable since her late teens. She was treated with Q- switched Alexandrite Laser (fluences: 5.5J/cm2, spot size: 3mm, repetition rate: 10Hz). After 7 sessions(interval 6 weeks), complete clearance was achieved. She complained that the treated side of her face looked much younger than the other side. Alexandrite Laser therapy and post- treatment therapies might be considered to cause this problem. First, she applied 0.025% retinoid and 4% hydroquinone ointment on her treated area every night. Second, laser treatment for intradermal pigmented lesion tightened dermal collagens. In cases of middle aged women with dermal pigmented lesions (nevus of Ota), collagen tightness of dermal layer is considered to cause rejuvenation effect. In order to balance the two sides of her face, we made her apply the same post-treatment therapies on the normal side. After 18months, the effect of rejuvenation of the treated area still lasted and the normal side also improved. This case implies that skin care on the entire face pre- and post-treatment is important in a laser therapy for nevus of Ota. Especially when it comes to middle aged women, rejuvenation therapies are recommended.