Lake Travis - Westlake Edition | June 2024

Health care

BY KAMERYN GRIESSER

In 2021, Westlake Dermatology joined clinical trials for the Accure laser acne device.

PHOTOS COURTESY WESTLAKE DERMATOLOGY

Westlake dermatologist explains new laser acne treatment option Daniel Friedmann, a Westlake Dermatology dermatologist and clinical research director, spoke to Community Impact about the Accure laser acne treatment. In 2021, Westlake Dermatology became one of only a handful of practices in the country to participate in the clinical trials for the device. Treatment ranges from $800-$1,000 per session. How does the laser acne treatment work? The goal of the treatments is targeting oil glands. Oil is the primary force behind the creation of acne,

and so you can stop new acne from forming by injuring oil glands in the face. ... [The laser] heats up the oil in the oil gland, and [the gland] gets injured irreversibly, so now you have less structures making new oil and less acne over time. What is the procedure like? How many sessions a patient needs will vary by person, but we typically oer the treatment in four sessions. ... Each full-face session takes about an hour, and we do some numbing cream. Depending on the age and experience of the patient, we may oer laughing gas. ... There is some pain; usually people call it mild. I would say someone who has had laser hair removal before will consider this much milder. ... The recovery is pretty minimal. Most people will have a certain amount of redness or very light swelling for a few hours after.

What kind of patient is it best suited for? Many of our patients are in their late teens or early 20s with moderate acne. It’s not really suited for painful cysts or nodules but more supercial acne. ... It’s a great option for those who would like to avoid the side eects of medications like isotreti- noin [formerly Accutane] and antibiotics. Why are these treatments becoming more popular in Austin? Being a pretty modern, tech-heavy city, it’s not hard to nd this kind of treatment in Austin. ... We have even had some people come in from other states where there was no provider that uses it yet. ... It’s a treatment that is simpler, has less risk. It solves the existing problem, and it can prevent problems in the future. ... I think a lot of dierent aspects of medicine are heading in that [preventa- tive] direction, not just dermatology.

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