Treatment of seborrheic keratosis in some Sudanese patients using diode laser (940 nm) and Nd-YAG laser (1064 nm)

Abstract

This study aimed to use the laser light to treat the seborrheic keratosis as a sign of chronological aging that associated with the passage of time that give signature in the skin clinically as skin laxity, wrinkling, dispigmentation, telangiectasis pigmented seborrheic keratosis on sun-exposed sites due to the repeated exposure to ultra violet radiation (UVR). The main objective for this study was the testing of the effects of diode laser (940 nm) and Nd-YAG laser (1064 nm) with different parameters in the treatment of pigmented seborrheic keratosis in Sudanese patients. This study was conducted in laser institute-Sudan University,Alyaa Specialised Medical Center during the period from 2009 to 2012. Thirty patients, clinicaly diagnosed as cases of seborrheic keratosis (PSK), were randomly selected for this study from different dermatological clinics in Khartoum and Omdurman State, considered as study population . The patients were divided into two groups, the first group with ten patients were treated with diode laser emitted 940 nm with peak power 20 watt, pulse duration 0.2-0.5 ms, frequency 3-8 Hz. The second group contained twenty patients were treated with Nd-YAG laser emitted 1064 nm with spot size 2.5 mm, pulse duration 0.5-0.9 μs, energy density between 160-170 J/cm2 and frequency of 1 Hz. All the patients signed a written informed consent ethical clearance. Safety precautions were followed according to the (ANSI). The response of treatment was evaluated by two independent dermatologist and the results were as follows: The first group (diode laser) : excellent results in 70% of the patients (7 patients) Very good results in 30% of the patients (3 patients) IV The second group (Nd-YAG laser) Excellent results in 75% of the patients (15 patients) Very good results in 25% of the patients (5 patients) Almost all patients experienced transient erythema and pain not more than 24 hours and hyperpigmentation for 5-6 weeks. From the obtained results one can conclude that the two lasers were very efficient in the treatment of pigmented seborrheic keratosis lesions. More work is needed in this field and in the field of laser application in dermatology to establish this experience in Sudan.