Laser therapy for refractory discoid lupus erythematosus when everything else has failed

Abstract

IPL and PDL is a safe adjunctive therapy to conventional treatment of DLE. In the effort to prevent severe scarring and disfigurement it should be used as early as possible.

Intense Pulsed Light and Q-Switched 1,064-nm Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Laser Treatment for the Scarring Lesion of Discoid Lupus Erythematosus

“…Previous studies reported that several treatments have been successful for the scarring lesions of DLE456. However, we found that IPL treatment could not resolve the hyperpigmented lesions and Q-switched 1,064-nm Nd:YAG laser could not resolve the erythematous lesions.…”

“…Topical tacrolimus and pimecrolimus have also been evaluated3. Recent studies reported that several treatments, including pulsed dye laser, CO 2 laser, intense pulsed light (IPL), and 1,064-nm long-pulse neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum (Nd:YAG) have been used for the cosmetic treatment of DLE456. Here, we report a case of a DLE scar that was successfully treated with a combination therapy of IPL and Q-switched 1,064-nm Nd:YAG laser.…”

Application of Intense Pulsed Light in the Treatment of Dermatologic Disease: A Systematic Review

“…The evidence for IPL in the treatment of other inflammatory dermatoses is limited to small open‐label trials and case reports . These data are summarized in Table S3D.…”

“…Attia and colleagues treated 20 patients with bilateral finger and toenail psoriasis with IPL and achieved significantly improved Nail Psoriasis Severity Index scores . In a retrospective study of 16 patients with discoid lupus erythematosus, Triolius and colleagues reported that IPL and PDL may be useful adjunctive therapies to mitigate scarring and disfigurement . When dyspigmentation and scarring are sequelae of inflammatory dermatoses, IPL appears to have a useful role, but further study is needed on the potential therapeutic benefit of IPL when the dominant clinical feature is cutaneous inflammation.…”

Treatment of lupus erythematosus of the eyelids with pulsed dye laser

“…Given the significant clinical improvement in this study and the previously published good results of PDL in the treatment of CLE [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14]23], we recommend early PDL treatment as an adjunctive therapy in controlling DLE disease activity.…”