Carbon dioxide laserabrasion: a new approach to management of familial benign chronic pemphigus (Hailey-Hailey disease).

Familial benign chronic pemphigus (FBCP), or Hailey-Hailey disease, can be a debilitating condition. Treatment is palliative and only excision of lesional skin followed by split-thickness grafting may be curative. The success of surgery is attributed to the removal of adnexal structures and a decrease in sweating and maceration. This is the first report of successful carbon dioxide (CO2) laserabrasion of a patient with FBCP. The procedure spared the underlying adnexae which contributed to the reepithelialization of the epidermis. The selective destructive property of the CO2 laser may contribute to understanding the pathophysiology of FBCP.