Excimer laser
A pulsed UV laser at 308 nm that irradiates only the affected areas of skin and spares the healthy skin. We use it above all for psoriasis and vitiligo.
Overview
The excimer laser is a pulsed XeCl laser that emits monochromatic UV light at a wavelength of 308 nanometres. That places it very close to the spectrum of the narrowband UVB devices at 311 nanometres that have been established in the light therapy of psoriasis and vitiligo for years. The difference lies in how it is applied: with conventional light therapy the whole body or a large part of it is irradiated, and it is not unusual for more than 40 sessions to be needed before the skin looks satisfactory. The excimer laser, by contrast, irradiates only the affected lesions, while the healthy skin around them is spared.
Because the light reaches only the diseased skin, treatment can begin with a higher dose, and the dose can be raised more quickly at the individual spots; the UV exposure of the rest of the body (the cumulative total dose) stays lower than with whole-body irradiation. Regions such as the scalp, armpits, groins and anal region, which whole-body UVB irradiation barely reaches, can be treated in this way as well. One limitation remains: psoriasis is constitutional and cannot be cured with the excimer laser either; what is treated are the existing plaques.
In our practice a pulsed XeCl excimer laser at 308 nm is used for this [PLATZHALTER: Gerätemodell bestätigen]. The treatment is not yet covered by the German statutory health insurers and is invoiced under the German scale of medical fees (GOÄ) as an IGeL service. The procedure, the number of sessions, typical skin reactions and the limits of the method are described on the pages on psoriasis and vitiligo.
Areas of application
- Psoriasis, above all circumscribed and persistent plaques
- Vitiligo
- Atopic dermatitis (neurodermatitis)
- Light patches (hypopigmentation) in scar areas and after laser treatment of acne scars
- Patchy hair loss (alopecia areata)
- Light patches in stretch marks (striae cutis distensae)
- Circumscribed eczema such as lichen Vidal, atopic prurigo and hand and foot eczema