Acne scarring is one of the conditions that has been most successfully treated with this type of nonablative fractional technology worldwide. Using high energies and creating enough density, most acne scarring (including ice pick scarring in Asian skin) can be treated to the point of patient satisfaction, as the collagen collapse is not a dynamic problem. Surgical scars and striae (stretch marks) are also responding extremely well to these treatments, as even the hypopigmented scar tissue has responded with increased melanin production and decreased fibrosis. Melasma has been successfully managed with the Lux 1540. Inadvertent UV exposure can promote rapid regression of this condition.
As nothing in the nonablative technology market has lived up to results observed with conventional ablative resurfacing for wrinkles, the industry needed to find a way not only to achieve these results but also to reduce downtime and side effects associated with this procedure. Recent research by Palomar (fractional erbium:YAG 2,940 nm) and Reliant (fractional CO2) has brought about the fractional delivery of ablative wavelengths, removing the entire epidermis and dermis in the same ablative way as before, but in a fractional delivery system which does so only with columns of ablated tissue. This creates the same type of wound to the skin as conventional full-surface ablative techniques, and as a result, the same type of healing response, but with a benefit of leaving unaffected tissue surrounding these micro-ablated columns. The result is less downtime with faster healing, resulting in fewer complications compared to conventional full-surface ablative resurfacing. Clinically, the results are much closer to what was observed with conventional resurfacing.