Carbon dioxide laser therapy of subclinical condyloma found by magnified penile surface scanning.

The etiology and treatment of condyloma caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) and the association of HPV with cervical dysplasia and/or carcinoma is a major issue in current gynecologic literature. This study examined results of carbon dioxide (CO2) laser treatment of 127 high-risk males with biopsy-proved subclinical HPV infections found by magnified penile surface scanning (MPSS). At a mean follow-up of four months a 66 per cent recurrence rate of microscopic condyloma was encountered. A discussion of the causes of such a high recurrence rate is given, with conclusions on this and prior condyloma treatment series.