Services

Erbium Laser

The Erbium laser is an ablative laser that is used to remove or reduce skin lesions. The laser creates a burn wound that takes some days to heal.

Which skin lesions can the Erbium laser treat?

The laser is used to remove or flatten skin lesions including nevi (moles), skin tags, seborrhoeic keratoses, solar keratoses and other benign superficial lesions. A skin check and examination of the lesions is required before treatment to determine if they can be safely treated with this type of laser. Any skin lesions suspicious of a skin cancer will not be treated using this type of laser.

What is involved?

The areas to be treated are made numb with local anaesthetic cream or injection before treatment. The laser is quite loud and removes layers of skin carefully in small spots. The skin layers are vaporized and the depth of ablation is judged by experience to minimise scarring as a result of treatment.

Anaesthetic

We will use anaesthetic either as a cream or injection before your treatment.

What are the risks?

There is an expected burn wound that will heal over some weeks. Following this, there will be some redness that will fade over time. Rarely the laser can create a scar or the skin lesion may grow back or recur. There is also a risk of some pigment variation after the treatment.Very rarely a laser wound may become infected and require treatment.