TCA Vs. Laser for Sun Damaged Skin?

asked 3 years ago by rachelinTN in TN
Latest answer by Rick Rosen, MD
Question viewed 2,963 times
Tags: comparison, skin tone, sun damage, uneven

I want to even out the tone of my skin--I have a lot of sun damage and precancerous lesions. Not considering downtime or cost, would you recommened one over the other?

6 answers to TCA Vs. Laser for Sun Damaged Skin?

Either one would be an excellent choice.

Thanks for your very good question. This is a question that gets posed quite a bit, and the answer is always a good one. Both TCA and IPL are excellent choices for reversing signs of sun damage and evening out skin tone. The combination of the two will give even better results. I will explain: TCA is an optimal choice for patients with lentigos or mottled hyperpigmentation due to chronic sun exposure. It will work extremely well in renewing the skin and delivering a porcelain white, fresh,... more

Don Mehrabi, MD
Beverly Hills Dermatologist

Tca peel vs laser

I believe that you can get a lot more accuracy of depth of treatment with the laser. with sun damage and wrinkles, a deeper treatment is necessary, and lasers are more accurate.

Rick Rosen, MD
Norwalk Plastic Surgeon

TCA vs. laser for sun damaged skin would depend on the individual

Of course, this choice between TCA and laser would have to be individualized to specifically suit your skin type and skin issues. Generally, a TCA peel is often considered adequate to improve skin tone and address uneven pigmentation or even actinic keratoses (precancerous, sun-damaged skin). Patients are very pleased with the results of this much simpler treatment which generally has a quicker recovery time than laser resurfacing. On the other hand, the more significant the sun damage... more

Michael R. Macdonald, MD
Bay Area Facial Plastic Surgeon

www.drmmacdonald.com

TCA vs. laser for sun-damaged skin

For sun-damaged skin and pre-cancers, you have several options. One of the best treatments for this is application of aminolevulinic acid (ALA), a chemical sensitizing agent followed by activation of this chemical with blue light, red light or intense pulsed light (IPL). Two treatments with a 1 month interval between treatments can give you considerable improvement. TCA peels can also work, but the more effective medium-depth peel has a few more days of recovery time than the... more

Bryan K. Chen, MD
San Diego Dermatologist

Both great for discoloration from the sun

While TCA peeling and numerous lasers improve the discoloration from sun damage, only ablative treatments that are more aggressive like fractional CO2, dermabrasion, and fully ablative laser treatments help eliminate pre-cancers. These mean downtime of at least 7 days. IPL, which is a non-laser pulsed light treatment, is usually the gold standard for red and brown blotches from sun damage but not for skin cancers It has no downtime but requires 3-6 sessions. Pearl or other mid-range... more

Mary Lupo, MD
New Orleans Dermatologist

Photodynamic Therapy with IPL is the most effective sun damage treatment

TCA peels unless done very deeply are not adequate to remove sun damage and pre cancerous lesions. Deeper TCA peels have a history of causing irregular pigmentation and scarring. The most modern up to date technique is called Photo-dynamic therapy which is excellent and effective. A cream called Levulan is applied to your face. After about an hour, the cream is selectively absorbed by the damaged skin cells. The Levulon sensitizes the damaged cells to light. Several different lights such as... more

Brooke R. Seckel, MD
Boston Plastic Surgeon

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