Dr. Juliette Hepburn, Dermatology, Nassau, Bahamas
Common modalities for wound healing often fail to achieve full closure of a wound; however, new laser therapy using a novel 0.65msec pulsed Nd:YAG 1064nm laser (Neo, Aerolase, Tarrytown, NY) has previously demonstrated clinical success achieving closure in wound healing without making any contact to the wound. 1064nm laser energy has been clinically proven to stimulate the formation of new collagen in the dermis of the skin; the heat from a 1064nm laser is also theorized to stimulate bacterial destruction, Nitric Oxide production, and the wound healing cascade. A patient presented with ulcers on the distal areas of the feet, and was treated with the subject laser. The response to treatment was rapid. The patient reported no treatment discomfort at all. Both ulcers complete re-epithelialized in a short period of time (see additional data below). Patient satisfaction was very high. 10-month follow up was conducted on the ulcer that had been treated twice, and it was still fully closed with barely any visible evidence of where the ulcer had been.