A combination of cream and Light therapy for superficial skin damage.
The Doctors at SCT may recommend this non-surgical treatment for you if you have superficially sun-damaged skin.
During Photodynamic therapy (PDT) treatment, we apply a light-sensitive cream to the area of sun damage, leave this in place for a set period of time and then apply a red/blue light which destroys abnormal skin cells. You will need two appointments, one in the morning for the cream application and one in the afternoon for the light therapy. When the cream is activated, it destroys abnormal skin cells.
Only the area of skin exposed to both the photosensitiser and the light will be affected and become inflammed. After the inflammation clears, the sun-damaged skin will either be cured or improve.
Studies have shown that PDT can work as well as surgery in treating certain kinds of cancers and pre-cancers. It also has some advantages,
- It has no long-term side effects when used properly.
- It’s less invasive than surgery.
- It usually takes only a short time and can be done at the clinic.
- It can be targeted very precisely or used for larger areas i.e. top of heads and backs.
- There’s usually little or no scarring after the site heals.
