Rosacea typically starts with redness on the cheeks, chin, forehead or nose that can come and go. Occasionally rosacea can occur on the chest, ears, neck and scalp. In some cases the eyes can also be affected appearing bloodshot, dry and swollen.

Over time the redness becomes more persistent and visible blood vessels appear. If the condition is not treated bumps and pimples develop and the skin can become tender and sensitive to touch. In severe cases the nose can grow swollen and bumpy from excess tissue (rhinophyma).

Although the condition can affect all people, fair-skinned individuals who blush or flush more easily are more prone to developing rosacea. While women are more likely to develop the condition than men, male sufferers tend to develop more severe symptoms.

Because rosacea varies from one patient to the next, a physician should determine treatment.

Dermatologists traditionally have prescribed a variety of oral and topical medications to treat rosacea. Oral antibiotics such as erythromicin, minocycline and tetracycline are used to reduce the inflammation and the formation of bumps and pimples while antibiotic gels are used to keep the symptoms under control. Neither oral nor topical treatments will cure rosacea so continued use of topical treatments has proven necessary to control symptoms. Topical treatments include metronidazole and azeliac acid.

Laser treatment of rosacea has been shown to be an effective way of both reducing visible blood vessels and removing the thickening of the skin associated with rhinophyma.

To reduce the appearance of visible blood vessels the best results are achieved using a KTP laser and/or a Nd:YAG laser. For those patients who want to reduce the thickening of the skin around the cheeks and nose an erbium laser is better suited since it is the workhorse for gentle facial resurfacing.

In both cases Fotona offers relief to rosacea sufferers:

The Dualis^VP system combines both a KTP and Nd: YAG laser to provide the widest range of vascular treatments available today with one laser system. Fotona KTP/Nd:YAG laser therapy is based on selective photothermolysis where green KTP Nd:YAG light is strongly absorbed in smaller, superficial blood vessels while the neighboring tissues remain unaffected. The KTP Nd:YAG laser heats the interior of the blood vessels as well as vessels walls and thus irreversibly blocks the vessel.

The Dualis^XS utilizes an erbium laser to gently ablate the surface of the skin layer by layer without thermally affecting surrounding tissues. The result is the removal of most common superficial lesions, thermal rejuvenation and the stimulation of new collagen to give the skin a youthful and fresh look.

BEFORE	AFTER – 4 months post treatment

Call Coastal Skin Center now to set up an appointment 207.667.2422 or 888.379.5664