Fraxel® Laser Receives FDA Clearance For Treatment Of Melasma

On July 27, Reliant announced that the Fraxel laser received FDA clearance to treat melasma, a stubborn skin condition estimated to affect 6 million women worldwide. Until now, melasma has been resistant to treatment, with traditional laser and pulsed-light procedures considered unsatisfactory due to lackluSiter results, significant downtime or the risk of adverse complications.

“We are delighted to finally have a successful laser treatment to offer patients who have been forced to view the world and be viewed by the world through a mask that could never be removed,” says dermatologist Cameron K. Rokhsar, MD, of New York, NY, who authored a landmark paper on the topic. “With the Fraxel laser’s unique approach of using millions of microscopic thermal spots to gently resurface only portions of skin at a time, we can now penetrate deep enough to eliminate the melanocytes that cause melasma.”

“We are delighted to finally have a successful laser treatment to offer patients who have been forced to view the world and be viewed by the world through a mask that could never be removed.”
— Cameron K. Rokhsar, MD

Dr. Rokhsar's study has been submitted to the American Society of Dermatologic Surgeons for presentation at their annual meeting in October and was accepted by Dermatologic Surgery with a expected publication date of December. He joined world renowned laser pioneer Dr. Richard Fitzpatrick in the ground breaking study: “By employing fractional resurfacing with its distinctive wound healing response, we can not only resolve the excessive and undesirable pigmentation at the dermal junction, but also avoid aggravating the surrounding melanocytes, preventing inflammatory post-treatment responses,” explains Dr. Fitzpatrick.