Laser surgery in rhinophyma.

BACKGROUND

Rhinophyma is a benign, disfiguring disorder, commonly referred to as the end-stage of severe rosacea and characterized by a progressive thickening and hypertrophy of the nasal skin and soft tissues. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the efficacy of CO2 laser compared to other laser techniques and surgical methods in the treatment of rhinophyma.

METHODS

Twenty-four rhinophyma patients were treated with CO2 laser in our institution from 2003 to 2013. A 10,600-nm CO2 pulsed laser was used in all patients, with a 6-month, post-treatment follow-up.

RESULTS

Six months after the last laser session, all patients showed global improvement of their clinical conditions: 19 (79.1%) high improvement (>75%), 4 (16.7%) moderate improvement (50-75%), and 1 (4.2%) low improvement (<25%).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study demonstrates that carbon dioxide laser warrants a careful nasal surface ablation, allowing the remodeling of the hypertrophic areas, with an excellent cosmetic result, a very short healing time, and virtually no side effects.