Candela GentleMax Pro

The Candela GentleMax Pro is a dual wavelength laser that houses a 755 nm alexandrite laser and a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser in one console, with both beams sent through a single handpiece. Candela's brochure describes it as its GentleLase Pro-U and GentleYAG Pro-U combined. The GentleMAX family received FDA 510(k) clearance K112715 on October 5, 2011, with indications that include hair reduction, benign pigmented lesions, vascular lesions and wrinkles in Fitzpatrick skin types I through VI.

The standard delivery system covers 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 18 mm spots. Candela also offered a specialty delivery system with 1.5 mm, 3 mm and 3 x 10 mm spots plus a 5 mm spot for nail fungus, and a large spot option at 20, 22 and 24 mm. Skin cooling came in two forms: the cryogen based Dynamic Cooling Device (DCD), built into the handpiece and fired just before each pulse, or the Air Cooling Compatible (ACC) configuration, which Candela offered as the alternative to cryogen.

Owners often confuse this console with its successor, the GentleMax Pro Plus. The comparison table in the Pro Plus clearance, K201111 from May 2020, shows the Pro Plus adding a 26 mm spot, raising maximum pulse energy from 53 J to 68 J on the alexandrite side and from 80 J to 90 J on the Nd:YAG side, and adding a finger switch where the Pro uses a switch on the handpiece. A console that fires only 755 nm is a GentleLase Pro, and one that fires only 1064 nm is a GentleYAG Pro.

Before an offer, a dealer will want the pulse counter reading, the software version and the dates of recent service. Say whether the unit is DCD or ACC, list every delivery system and spot size in the sale, and describe the fiber and handpiece window. Photograph the serial label, the main screen and each distance gauge.