Improvement of infraorbital hyperpigmentation following carbon dioxide laser resurfacing.

Abstract

Many patients who request cutaneous carbon dioxide (CO2) laser resurfacing for correction of periorbital rhytides also complain of "dark circles" under their eyes. This study was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of high-energy pulsed CO2 laser treatment in reducing infraorbital hyperpigmentation. Significant lightening of infraorbital hyperpigmentation was observed 9 weeks following CO2 laser resurfacing. Melanin reflectance spectrometry readings did not correlate with clinical findings. This study represents the first report of the successful use of a non-pigment-specific laser system for the treatment of infraorbital dark circles. The lack of correlation of melanin spectrometry readings with clinical assessment likely represents an insufficient follow-up time period.