A Case Report of Vitiligo Induced by Alexandrite Hair Removal Laser

Abstract

Vitiligo is one of the disorders where we usually see Koebner lesions. Lasers target a chromophore in the skin to deliver their energy. Their effect is theoretically considered as injury and may induce Koebner lesions in vitiligo patients. Few cases were reported with the different kinds of laser, including laser hair removal (LHR). No cases have ever been reported of vitiligo lesions induced by Alexandrite LHR. Here we present a case report of a young female patient who had never had vitiligo until she received a 755-nm LHR treatment. These vitiligo lesions were completely treated with NB-UVB with no recurrence until 4 years later when she received another 755-nm LHR treatment session with a different machine, which lead to new vitiligo patches only on the areas that received the laser.

Keywords

• vitiligo
• koebner phenomenon
• alexandrite laser
• laser hair removal