Today, she is educating us on the benefits of light therapy.
As we age, we start to see spots and little brown spots popping up on our arms, legs, chest and just about everywhere else there is skin that has had sun exposure!
Many of these can be easily removed by having them frozen off my our dermatologist. Others can be removed by a laser treatment at a plastic surgeon's office.
Occasionally, however, a more aggressive strategy is needed- because the damage to our skin is much worse. Unfortunately, many of these treatments can leave us looking rather ugly for weeks at a time.
Most often, the lesions of greatest concern are Actinic Keratoses (AK's for short). These are usually red, dry and flaky lesions that need to be removed because of the potential that they may progress to skin cancer. The saying of 'where there is one, there are more", is certainly true with these guys. What you see is usually only the tip of the iceberg.
A great option for treating these is with photodynamic therapy. This is an in-office treatment that is much easier to tolerate and just as effective as the alternatives, although a second treatment is occasionally necessary.
Aminolevulinic acid is first applied to the skin and allowed to penetrate for minutes to hours, depending on the treatment site. Light therapy is then initiated to activate the ALA which in turn stimulates the body to produce agents that destroy the target tissue cells.
One advantage to this type of therapy is that it is selective, destroying only the abnormal cells. Another advantage is that this therapy is fairly painless. Most patients will have a sunburn type of look for a day or two and may have some light peeling. Topical creams, on the other hand, are usually applied several times a week for weeks. The skin usually is irritated, itchy, painful--and ugly. When large areas need to be treated--arms, legs, balding heads--other procedures can be impractical, healing slowly and with the risk of scar formation.
ALA PDT ( aminolevulinic acid/ photodynamic therapy) can be a great choice to remove pre cancers as well as basal cell cancers already diagnosed. After treatment, sun avoidance must be total for about 48hrs to allow complete metabolism of the the ALA.
If you have concerns about the sun damage you incurred earlier in life, or have already been diagnosed with multiple pre-cancerous lesions, and would like to learn more about ALA and Light Therapy, call our Orlando Plastic Surgery and Skin Care Center for a complimentary consultation or simply email Michelle at:
Michelle@DrArmandoSoto.com
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