The Efficacy of Intense Pulsed Light as a Treatment for Benign Pigmented Lesions on the Dorsal Hand

BACKGROUND Intense pulsed light (IPL) is a noninvasive therapeutic option to treat benign pigmented lesions by targeting melanin. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess IPL as a treatment for benign pigmented dorsal hand lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of fifteen subjects, 40 to 73 years old, received 3 monthly IPL treatments over the dorsal hands. Subjects followed up 1 and 3 months after treatment. At every visit, photographs were taken using the VISIA Complexion Analysis System (Canfield Scientific, Fairfield, NJ) and analyzed using the RBX Brown Spots Analysis algorithm. The Clinician Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale and Subject Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale were completed at both follow-up visits. RESULTS A total of fifteen subjects completed all six visits. The number of brown spots decreased 9.26% ( p = .0004) and 7.52% ( p = .0132) at each follow-up visit. The mean brown intensity decreased 6.15% ( p = .0183) and 7.67% ( p = .0178), whereas the mean contrast intensity decreased 8.88% ( p < .0001) and 6.60% ( p = .0007) 1 and 3 months after treatment, respectively. The mean Clinician Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale was 2.03 and 2.23, whereas the mean Subject Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale 1 and 3 months after treatment was 1.6 and 1.8, respectively. CONCLUSION Objective analysis, along with clinician and subject assessments, showed an improvement in the appearance of benign pigmented lesions in the treated area after 3 IPL treatments.