Laser treatment method for removing pigement containing lesions from the skin of a living human

Claim 1

A laser treatment method for removing pigment containing lesions from the skin of a living human, said method comprising the steps of: irradiating on a first occasion a chosen treatment site on the skin of a living subject of about 1-100 millimeters in diameter with a beam of pulsed light from a laser delivery system, said pulsed light having a wavelength from about 700-1,100 nanometers, fluences of about 1-50 Joules per square centimeter, and a pulse duration of about 1-300 nanoseconds; maintaining said irradiation to disrupt at least one pigment containing lesion on the chosen treatment site on the skin of the living human until a color change endpoint on the skin surface is achieved by said laser light treatment while largely avoiding the destruction of normal skin structures and cells; allowing the skin at said irradiated treatment site to heal for a time period not less than about 7 days and not more than about 70 days; and then irradiating on at least one subsequent occasion the chosen treatment site on the skin of the living human with another pulsed beam of laser light having a wavelength from about 700-1,100 nanometers, fluences of about 1-50 Joules per square centimeter, and a pulse duration of about 1-300 nanoseconds, said subsequent irradiation occasion being repeated as necessary to achieve substantial clearance of the chosen treatment site on the skin.