Acne Treatment With Fotona

Acne is a skin condition that results from trapped oil and blocked pores, leading to unsightly bumps and scarring on the face and other body parts. It can be embarrassing, often leading to low self-esteem for those afflicted. There are a number of options when it comes to treating acne, from topical creams to prescription medication to Fotona laser treatments. Modern technological advances such as Fotona seem to provide relief for even the most extreme acne sufferers.

Function

• Fotona is a company that makes high-performance lasers for various functions, one of which is treating acne. The lasers work by penetrating the skin's surface to destroy the bacteria that causes acne and increasing collagen regeneration to improve the skin's appearance. They are also used to resurface the skin after acne scarring, in a minimally invasive procedure that patients recover from quickly.

Significance

• Acne and acne scars are traditionally very difficult to treat, sometimes involving invasive surgical procedures such as excision, chemical peels, or abrasion to scrape the scar off of the skin. Topical treatments are often drying and irritate the skin. Laser systems use high-powered lasers that release porphyrins, molecules that work to effectively destroy acne bacteria without upsetting the skin. Lasers also vaporize acne-scarred skin to reveal undamaged skin beneath without scraping the surface.

Features

• Fotona's aesthetic laser systems have two different lasers, which many other laser systems lack. There is the erbium laser, which assists in resurfacing acne scars, and the neodymium laser that penetrates the skin to destroy propionobacterium, the bacteria-causing acne. This sets Fotona lasers apart from others in what they can achieve and how they go about doing it.

Misconceptions

• Lasers are not strictly a new technology, having first been conceptualized by Einstein in 1917. Harold Maiman invented the first operating laser in 1960, and further developments continued from that point. Lasers are no longer a futuristic idea, but are commonly used in medicine, communications and scientific research. They can correct vision or scan items at the checkout in a supermarket.

Considerations

• Fotona manufactures a number of laser products and sells them to medical centers around the world. Not all laser surgery to combat acne will be done with a Fotona laser. According to its website, all Fotona medical lasers are marked and approved to be sold in the European Union. In the United States, some of the products have not yet been approved by the FDA for use. However, some clinics in the U.S. are now using FDA-approved Fotona products to treat acne, such as the SkinSational Laser Center in Rhode Island and the Amarillo Laser & Vein Clinic in Texas.