Laser and Microdermabrasion Before Photodynamic Therapy for Actinic Keratoses in Field-cancerized Skin

One 50 cm2 test area was randomized to pretreatment using a fractional 2940 nm Er:YAG laser (Joule®; Sciton Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA). To remove hyperkeratosis, a fully-ablative 4 mm handpiece was optionally applied, followed by a single pass of a fractional Profrax 430 handpiece for all AKs. Subsequent field treatment consisted of a single pass of the Profrax 430 handpiece over the entire test area. Immediately after pretreatment, a 0.5 mm layer of methyl aminolevulinate (Metvix ® cream 16%; Galderma, Paris, France) was applied. After 30 minutes, patients were exposed to 2 hours of ambient daylight, according to approved procedure. After light exposure, cream was wiped off and test areas were covered for the remainder of the day.

Another adjacent 50 cm2 test area was exposed to microdermabrasion using an MD pad with 58.5 µm-diameter particles (Ambu® Skin Prep Pads 2121M; Ambu A/S, Ballerup, Denmark). Lesion-directed treatment consisted of an increasing number of swipes concentrated to AK lesions. During field treatment, multiple swipes were applied in perpendicular directions over the entire test area. Immediately after pretreatment, a 0.5 mm layer of methyl aminolevulinate (Metvix ® cream 16%; Galderma, Paris, France) was applied. After 30 minutes, patients were exposed to 2 hours of ambient daylight, according to approved procedure. After light exposure, cream was wiped off and test areas were covered for the remainder of the day.