Photodynamic Therapy (PDT)

PDT is often recommended if you have areas of sun damage that may be pre-cancerous, such as actinic keratoses. These look like rough, scaly or crusty patches, often on the face, scalp or hands. Left untreated, a small number of these patches can develop into skin cancer, so treating them early is an important part of protecting your skin's long-term health.

PDT can also treat certain superficial skin cancers. It is particularly suitable if you have several patches or a wider area of sun damage, or if the area is somewhere other treatments might leave a noticeable mark. If you have noticed any new or changing patches on your skin, we recommend booking a consultation so that one of our clinicians can assess them and advise on the most suitable treatment.

PDT can treat most areas of the body, but the most common are the ones that get the most sun:

• Face, including the forehead, cheeks, nose, temples and around the mouth
• Scalp, especially in patients with thinning hair or baldness
• Ears
• Neck and décolletage (upper chest)
• Hands and forearms
• Lower legs, often treated for Bowen's disease and superficial basal cell carcinoma
• Back, shoulders and trunk

A light-sensitive gel is applied to the affected area and absorbed by the abnormal cells. A controlled light source or natural daylight then activates the gel and targets those cells, leaving the surrounding healthy skin largely unaffected.