Pigmented lesions, and in particular age spots, are increasingly regarded by the persons affected as a cosmetic blemish. Age spots occur with 50% of women and 20% of men from the age of 50 onwards. As such signs of ageing are increasingly seen as annoying, the readiness to have these removed privately is also growing.

There are many different types of pigmented lesions which differ from one another fundamentally in terms of their morphological and histological characteristics. For this reason the evaluation of and possible therapy for pigmented lesions should always be the reserve of doctors with specialist's knowledge.

Benign pigmented lesions such as lentigo simplex, lentigo senilis (age and sun spots), café au lait stains and may types of naevi may be treated with laser devices in various ways. Q-switched lasers emit short light pulses in the nanosecond area, which thanks to their wavelength are selectively absorbed by the skin pigment melanin. The laser treatment itself is uncomplicated and is conducted on an out-patient basis with or without a local anaesthetic. The laser light is specifically absorbed by the colour pigments of the lesions. The energy is transferred and then fragments the coloured particles from the connective tissue. The fragmented particles are then degraded epidermally and lymphatically. The irradiated area of skin appears whitish for 10 - 20 minutes immediately after treatment. A slight crust then forms which sloughs off after about 1 - 2 weeks.

Pigmented lesions may also be treated using ablating lasers. In this respect it is necessary to differentiate between "cold ablation", with the Er:YAG laser for instance, and vaporisation (QuadroStar).

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