Figures & data
Table 1 Baseline demographics and clinical data of the patients
Figure 1 A 35-year-old female patient with a 4-year history of melasma: (A) before treatment with fractional Er:YAG laser + HQ cream, (B) clinical appearance 12 weeks after starting therapy, (C) before treatment with HQ cream alone, and (D) clinical appearance 12 weeks after starting therapy.
Figure 2 A 43-year-old female patient with a 7-year history of melasma: (A) before treatment with fractional Er:YAG laser + HQ cream, (B) clinical appearance 12 weeks after starting therapy, (C) before treatment with HQ cream alone, and (D) clinical appearance 12 weeks after starting therapy.
Figure 3 Dermoscopic photomicrographs of melasma lesions shows a fine brown reticular pattern superimposed on a background of faint light brown areas (original magnification ×15): (A) at baseline, (B) 12 weeks after starting treatment with fractional Er:YAG laser + HQ cream, (C) at baseline, and (D) 12 weeks after starting treatment with HQ cream alone.
Figure 4 Dermoscopic photomicrographs of melasma lesions (original magnification ×15): (A) at baseline, (B) 12 weeks after starting treatment with fractional Er:YAG laser + HQ cream, (C) at baseline showing telangiectasias (arrows in inset), and (D) 12 weeks after starting treatment with HQ cream alone.
Table 2 PGA
Table 3 Patient evaluation of treatment outcome
Figure 5 A comparative graph depicting a significant decline in mean MASI score on both sides at the end of the study with a greater reduction on the side receiving fractional Er:YAG laser + HQ than the side receiving HQ alone.
Table 4 Side effects reported