Complications After IPL Treatment

The rapid development of IPL technique has led to improvement in the safety of professional and of home-use devices. Covering such a large array of treatments in the medical office as well as at home, IPL devices prove to be a relatively safe technique. Some adverse effects can still be encountered, most with minor consequences. The complications caused by IPL treatments may be divided into two groups: those which are due to errors in handling of the device and those which are patient-dependent. Improper training of operators and insufficient experience may lead to undesirable results. The second type of complication which is related to the patient’s skin reactivity is harder to anticipate. Major complications are permanent pigmentary changes, paradoxical effect, leukotrichia, uveitis, iritis and scarring. Minor complications are erythema and purpura which last more than 3 days, blisters, temporary pigmentary changes and temporary hair discoloration. In this chapter we will describe the most common side effects as well as the methods of avoiding and treating them when they occur.