Background: Inflammatory cystic acne has been treated by a variety of modalities including antibiotics, topical agents, isotretinoin and chemical peels with variable degrees of success. Erbium:YAG lasers have been used for the treatment of acne scarring and photoaged skin but have not been thought of as treatment for actively inflamed lesions.
Objective: We sought to ascertain the effectiveness of using low fluence erbium:YAG settings without topical anesthesia for the treatment of two patients with inflamed cystic acne.
Methods: Two female patients with type 4 skin of Hispanic (32 years old) and south Asian (21 years old) origin were treated with the 2940 erbium:YAG LaserPeel laser. The Hispanic patient was treated twice with a 2-month interval between treatments using the 200 mJ setting. The Asian patient had a combination of 200 and 400 mJ settings for her first treatment and 400 mJ for the subsequent two treatments. She was treated three times with an interval of 1 month between the first two treatments and a 2-month interval between the second and third treatments.
Results: Both patients healed within 6 days of each treatment and demonstrated progressive improvement. Results were excellent in both.
Conclusion: Low fluence erbium:YAG facial resurfacing was effective for the treatment of inflamed cystic acne. Its use as a treatment modality should be further explored.