• Question: What are some of the negative side effects of laser skin treatments if any?

    Asked by sciencylad4 to Tom, Mike, Pip, Tianfu, Tim on 25 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by michaelplease, hilla015, hcharlton, rfmp99.
    • Photo: Tom Lister

      Tom Lister answered on 25 Jun 2012:

      In normal circumstances:

      Increase or decrease in pigment production in the treated area. We sometimes (although not often) see the area treated becoming darker brown than the surrounding skin or becoming white. It usually fades after a few months, although when treating tattoos for example, lots of people are left with a permanent white ‘ghost’.

      False aspirations: This has to be very well managed. If somebody has had a life time of problems because of a disfiguring birth mark on their face, laser treatment is not going to solve all of their problems.

      In extreme cases:
      Scarring. After some treatments, the skin may scab and if these scabs are repeatedly scratched or knocked off you can be left with scar.

    • Photo: Tim Stephens

      Tim Stephens answered on 26 Jun 2012:

      I guess this is just aimed at Tom.

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