Electrosurgery in dermatosis papulosa nigra: An effective, well-tolerated but less documented tool
Journal Title: Journal of Surgical Dermatology - Year 2016, Vol 1, Issue 2
Abstract
Dermatosis papulosa nigra (DPN) is a superficial, black or brown benign papule that develops mainly in dark-skinned individuals over the face and neck. Clinically seborrheic keratosis shows a stuck-on appearance that differentiates it from DPN. Histopathological examination describes that both are identical. Many types of lasers are used as treatments for it. Traditional surgical procedures such as curettage, electrosurgery, and snip/shave excision are still considered as a therapeutic modality. Although electrodesiccation (ED) is a simple procedure, studies on ED use for DPN with a good number of cases are lacking. This paper presents the evaluation safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of ED for the treatment of DPN in Fitzpatrick‟s skin type IV to VI. A total of 40 patients (11 male and 29 female) with DPN over the face and neck with skin type IV–VI were included. Superficial ED (monopolar, low, 2–3.5 W) was done by just touching the lesion under topical anesthesia. All preoperative photographs as well as 2-, 4- and 8-week post-procedure photographs were examined by two independent dermatologists who had no prior information concerning the procedure, (both known hereafter as “blinded observer”): one for examining efficacy in terms of poor improvement (0%–25%), fair (26%–50%), good (51%–75%), or excellent (76%–100%), by counting completely cleared lesions; and the other for examining side effects in terms of hypo/hyperpigmentation and scarring. As a result, 85% of patients showed excellent improvement (>75% clearance), 7.5% good (51%–75% clearance), 5% fair (26%–50% clearance) and 2% poor (0–25% clearance) as measured by the “blinded” observer. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation was observed in 15% cases, whereas hypo-pigmentation was documented in 7.5% cases. Only in two cases (5%) was lesional scarring noted. Those complications were cleared after eight weeks. In this study, ED was observed to be an effective, well-tolerated and cost-effective method for treatment of DPN in colored skin. Complications were few, and therapy was performed appropriately with effective postoperative measures.
Authors and Affiliations
Surajit Gorai, Joly Seth, Ayush Bindal, Asit Baran Samanta, Subhas Nag, Bani Kumar Mondal
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP680086
- DOI -
- Views 205
- Downloads 0
Giant seborrheic keratosis of the face – An unusual presentation
Seborrheic keratosis is the most common benign epidermal lesion in the world, especially among the elderly. Its inherent benign nature has precluded the need to remove it for medical reasons. Most of the concerns present...
The story behind cryosurgery
Cryosurgery is used to describe the controlled destruction of tissue by freezing. Today, cryosurgery is widely practiced in medicine, so it would be interesting to know how the story of cryosurgery began. Here are some s...
Necrotising fasciitis—A rare complication of split-thickness skin graft donor site
Split-thickness skin grafting (STSG) is commonly used to cover raw areas of various aetiologies. Donor sites are known to get infected sometimes, but necrotising fasciitis is not often reported. We report here a case of...
Tear trough – Anatomy and treatment by autologous fat grafting
Tear trough is the main irregularity at midface, of which treatment is difficult. There is no agreement in literature about its anatomy and best treatment. The author presented an anatomical study and personal autologous...
Comparing the role of subcision suction method with and without the injection of platelet-rich plasma in the treatment of depressed scars
Among wound-healing modalities, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used for wound healing, through the release of multiple growth factors. The platelets mediate wound healing by initiating the clotting pathway and the s...