Effectiveness of erbium:YAG laser and cryosurgery in seborrheic keratoses: Randomized, prospective intraindividual comparison study

Gurel MS, Aral BB.
J Dermatolog Treat, 26(5):477-480. 2015.

Background and objective:

Seborrheic keratoses (SK) are benign cutaneous lesions frequently seen in old age. The aim of the study is to compare the efficiency of Er:YAG lasers with cryotherapy in the treatment of SK.

Patients and methods:

The study was carried out on 42 patients with SK sized 0.5–3 cm, located on the back, chest, face and neck. Lesions with a similar size and location on the same patient were matched. In the same session, half of the lesions were treated with cryotherapy, while the other half were treated with Er:YAG lasers. All of the patients were clinically evaluated in two recalls with a one-month interval between appointments. The efficiency of the treatments was clinically evaluated.

Results: Following the first treatment, complete healing was detected in all of the lesions (100%) treated with Er:YAG lasers, while the healing rate was 68% in the cryotherapy group (p < 0.01). In the Er:YAG laser-treated group, hyperpigmentation was significantly lower and more erythema developed than in the cryotherapy group.

Conclusion:

Er:YAG lasers offer a one-step procedure which is a very simple and economic treatment and provides an alternative treatment method with better cosmetic results compared to cryotherapy.