Clinical Evaluation and Experience in Treatments Performed with Fractional CO2 Laser on Latin American Skin: An Observational Retrospective Study.

Background

The carbon dioxide (CO2) laser is an ablative system that evaporates, remodels, and coagulates tissues, becoming therefore a gold standard piece of equipment for the treatment of dermatological pathologies and esthetic imperfections.

Objective

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of CO2 laser treatments in different patients' skin pathologies.

Methods

A total of 705 patients with an age range between 18 and 70 years, with phototypes on the Fitzpatrick scale III, IV, V, and VI, were enrolled from October 2021 to May 2022, and were treated using the CO2 laser system.

Results

Ninety-six patients were treated with fractional CO2 laser, used for skin rejuvenation and stretch marks. One patient presented reactivation of herpes simplex, 10 postinflammatory hyperpigmentation that resolved after 3 months with depigmenting agents, 6 with persistent erythema. A total of 13 patients with rhinophyma were treated, and no complications were observed; a total of 64 patients with wrinkles were treated. They improved in 6 months. A total of 340 patients were treated for seborrheic keratosis, papulosa nigra dermatosis, fibropapillomas, sebaceous hyperplasias, verruca vulgaris, and condylomata acuminata. One patient presented with a complication hypopigmented macule. A total of 136 patients underwent treatment for laser ablation of intradermal nevi and verrucous epidermal nevi, without complications. A total of 56 patients were treated with keloids and hypertrophic scars. One patient presented with ulceration of a keloid that resolved with the application of clostridiopeptidase A and chloramphenicol after 2 weeks.

Conclusions

The use of the CO2 laser in any phototype and race, which are factors with a high incidence in Latin America, provides a safe and effective result for different dermatological pathologies.