The Cleveland Clinic Department of Plastic Surgery has a new way to treat certain skin problems and a new technology to assess how well an anti-aging skin-care regimen is working. The new treatment, photodynamic therapy, uses light to activate a chemical process that shows great promise in treating certain precancerous skin conditions, superficial skin cancers and acne.
"We hope it is going to be good for patients who are prone to developing superficial skin cancers, acne and perhaps facial aging," says James E. Zins, M.D., chairman of the Department of Plastic Surgery.
The first step is application of a medication called Levulan, which is "painted" on the problem areas. Levulan is absorbed by skin cells that are actively "turning over." These can be cancerous or precancerous skin cancer cells, acne prone cells or sun-damaged cells. Once it is absorbed in about an hour, Levulan converts to an acidic substance. When a special blue light is shined on it, the substance reacts to destroy problem skin cells. Patients spend only about eight minutes under the light.
For patients interested in anti-aging skin care, The Cleveland Clinic now offers the Visia system, a computer program that allows doctors to objectively quantify improvements in sun damage, aging and wrinkles that contribute to older-looking skin. "The Visia system is quite new, and I think will be a wonderful addition to our means of analysis," says Dr. Zins.
The system uses a giant database designed by Procter & Gamble to determine average levels of facial skin aging for certain ages and skin types. The database analyzes factors such as pore size, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation. A patient’s skin is then compared to the database to see how it ranks.
Before any treatment begins, a digital photo of the patient is read by the computer, which provides scores in the different aspects of facial aging. "For a female patient beginning skin care treatment, we can use Visia to learn that, for example, she is in the 50th percentile for several aging variables. Once treatment is under way, a follow-up photo could be analyzed and we could document that the treatment has improved her skin," he explains.
© Copyright 1995-2005 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All rights reserved
