Facial Photoaging Treated With Salicylic Acid&#150Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy

Photoaging refers to skin damage that occurs from chronic exposure to UV radiation. These changes include roughness, sallowness, rhytides, pigmentary changes, erythema, telangiectasias, and sebaceous hyperplasia. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) offers a convenient and effective treatment option for photoaging. Because it acts as a photosensitizer, 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is sometimes used as a treatment adjuvant in PDT, rendering the PDT more effective. We describe a new technique of using a 30% salicylic acid peel immediately prior to 5-ALA application in order to enhance penetration of 5-ALA. In our patient, this technique produced significant improvement in the skin, including decreased lentigines and more even skin texture, after just one treatment session. By combining these techniques, we propose that a more effective outcome can be produced with a single treatment session, thereby decreasing the number of treatments needed to produce the desired effect.