Laser treatment of epidermal nevi: A multicenter retrospective study with long-term follow-up.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nPatients with epidermal nevi strongly demand cosmetic improvement. Laser treatment appears appealing and is frequently used in clinical practice. Nevertheless, large series with long-term follow-up are missing, preventing definitive conclusions about its real benefit.\n\n\nOBJECTIVE\nTo evaluate the long-term effectiveness and safety of lasers for epidermal nevi.\n\n\nMETHODS\nBicentric, retrospective, cohort study, including all patients treated with a laser for an epidermal nevus with more than a one-year follow-up.\n\n\nRESULTS\nSeventy patients were treated for different types of epidermal nevi, mostly with ablative lasers: 23 verrucous epidermal nevi, 16 nevi sebaceous, 26 Becker nevi, two inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevi, one smooth-muscle hamartoma, one rounded and velvety epidermal nevus, and one nevus lipomatosus superficialis. The follow-up period ranged between 12 and 127 months (median 37 months). Better results, fewer recurrences, and higher patient satisfaction were noted in treatments for verrucous epidermal nevi than for nevi sebaceous. Q-switched (QS) lasers failed to show any degree of improvement in almost all patients with Becker nevus.\n\n\nLIMITATIONS\nThe retrospective nature of the study.\n\n\nCONCLUSIONS\nAblative lasers can treat verrucous epidermal nevi with good long-term esthetic results, but they have limited long-term efficacy for nevus sebaceous. Q-switched lasers failed to improve Becker nevi.