Clinical features of photodamage and treatment with topical tretinoin.

Photodamage constitutes a skin disease that merits therapy. Immediate cosmetic improvement of photodamaged skin can be achieved most dramatically by surgical means. Medical intervention has been limited until the recent advent of topical retinoic acid products for photoaging. These medications have been shown to enhance cosmesis and to produce long-lasting physiologic changes. The clinical features of photodamage and treatment with topical tretinoin are discussed.