LASER service

We are extremely proud that skin treatment LASERs have been used in Dermatology in Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust since the 1980s.

Welcome to the LASER Service

We currently offer treatments for a range of dermatological conditions including:

  • Birthmarks
  • Vascular and lymphatic anomalies
  • Rosacea
  • Rhinophyma
  • Hirsutism
  • Pilonidal Sinus disease
  • Hair bearing oral reconstruction flaps
  • Radiotherapy tattoos, burns and keloid scarring
  • Inflammatory skin conditions
  • Recalcitrant warts
  • Genetic conditions
  • And many more

We offer an in-house Skin Camouflage service. This can be accessed through a dermatologist within the hospital.

We treat patients of all ages both in our outpatient clinic and in theatres for patients requiring general anaesthesia.

We are a small but highly skilled team of clinicians and practitioners who work very hard to ensure our patients receive a high quality safe service.

We aim to understand what your expectations from your treatment are, taking time to explain proposed treatments side effects and outcomes.

It may not always be appropriate to proceed with treatment following your consultation.

In order to get the best possible outcome from your treatment, you need to understand that there is a partnership between you and the LASER team.

By attending for LASER treatment you are agreeing to:

  • Attend at the required time interval
  • Abide by your treatment guidelines (suncare etc)
  • Arrive promptly to your appointment (to allow your skin to settle, you may need to attend Medical Photography etc). If you are late you may not receive treatment
  • If you do not attend your face to face appointment or your prior arranged telephone consultation, and fail to contact the department, you will be discharged back to the care of your GP
  • If you cancel two consecutive appointments you will also be discharged back to the care of your GP as per the Trust policy
  • We aim to treat you within a timely manner within your appointment time
  • Occasionally we may need to seek the advice of a clinician who may not be in the clinic at the time. At busy times you may experience a delay but we will keep you informed of a realistic timescale
  • The demand for LASER treatment funded by the NHS is extremely high and we are rarely without a waiting list. If you need to cancel or amend your appointment please do this as soon as possible to allow us to allocate your appointment to another patient. We are often unable to fill short notice cancellations or no show appointments

What to expect from your appointment

Your initial consultation may involve a telephone call or a face to face appointment with a clinician or practitioner. This gives us the opportunity to provide you with information regarding treatment options available and for us to gather all information relevant to your condition and/or treatment, and for you to ask questions.

At your face to face appointment we will conduct an assessment of your skin, discuss your treatment options and provide you with information relevant to your treatment. If your initial appointment is a telephone call this will be done when you attend your first appointment in the department.

As we are a teaching hospital there may be a student present at your consultation with your permission.

You may be asked to have some photographs taken prior to treatment, this is to provide us with accurate visible records of your condition. You will be asked for your permission before the photographs are taken and you will be given a consent form to sign.

We will also ask you to sign a consent form before conducting any treatment. We will provide you with information on the consent form and offer you a copy as well as discussing the choices of treatment with you. If you later change your mind you are entitled to withdraw consent, even after signing.

Following on from this we will then conduct a small test patch and may take further photographs of the treated area this helps us to assess the response of the treated area at your subsequent visits. At your next appointment we will assess the response of the test area if we can see a visible improvement and you have not had any treatment reactions we will deliver your first full treatment to the area agreed at consent.

If we cannot see an improvement in the test area we may need to conduct another test patch or if your initial treatment is practitioner lead we may need to discuss your treatment with a clinician before continuing with further treatment. 

Meet The Team

In the Laser Department we have a small team of specialist Laser Practitioners who have undergone extensive training in Laser skin applications.

We are dedicated to ensuring our patients receive the best possible care. 

The team is led by Dr Rachel Urwin, Consultant in Dermatologist and specialist in Laser Dermatology.

We have Specialist Registrars who work alongside our Consultant and rotate through the clinics.

You may be seen in a Consultant-led clinic or by a Registrar or Practitioner.

Contact us

If you have any general queries or concerns regarding your appointment or LASER treatment, we would be happy to discuss them with you.

Please telephone the Laser Department on 0113 39 24307 during clinic hours, Monday – Thursday 8 am to 4 pm.

Treatment reactions

Monday to Thursday, 8 am to 1 pm

Friday, 8 am to 11.30 am

Dr Urwin’s secretary: 0113 39 24371

Alternatively if you are unable to contact us, please seek advice from your GP or NHS Helpline 111.

Address and directions

Our address is:

Laser Suite,
Dermatology C4
1st floor
Chapel Allerton Hospital
Leeds
LS7 4SA

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