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CO 2 laser resurfacing of psoriatic plaques: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Alora Maria Beatrice T.,
Anderson R. Rox,
Quinn Timothy R.,
Taylor Charles R.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1998)22:3<165::aid-lsm4>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - papillary dermis , medicine , curettage , dermis , psoriasis , quadrant (abdomen) , carbon dioxide laser , epidermis (zoology) , ablation , dermatology , laser , surgery , pathology , laser surgery , anatomy , optics , physics
Background and Objective Laser resurfacing can precisely remove epidermis and papillary dermis, sites pivotal to the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Our objective was to determine the efficacy and safety of superficially ablating carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) lasers for treating isolated, recalcitrant psoriatic plaques. Materials and Methods Twelve adult subjects with stable, plaque‐type psoriasis were recruited. In six volunteers, the quadrants received different numbers of passes with a 60 |gmsec pulsed CO 2 ( Tru‐Pulse ) laser. In the remaining patients, one quadrant underwent curettage prior to resurfacing, the second resurfacing with a scanned continuous wave ( Sharplan Silktouch ) CO 2 laser and the last curettage alone. Results Despite clinical and histological evidence of complete ablation of the epidermis and papillary dermis, most quadrants recurred within 8 weeks. Surprisingly, two patients showed no recurrence after 4 months. Conclusion Ablation of the entire epidermis and papillary dermis with either pulsed or scanned CO 2 lasers appears generally ineffective in treating recalcitrant psoriatic plaques, although the clearing seen in two patients suggests potentially successful future research directions. Lasers Surg. Med. 22:165–170, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.