The Use of the CO₂ Laser in Rhinophyma Surgery: Personal Technique and Experience, Complications, and Long-Term Results

ABSTRACT

Rhinophyma is a slowly progressive disfiguring disorder of the nose that represents the end stage of acne rosacea. The cosmetic deformity is often the reason patients seek medical attention. Over the years, many treatment modalities, including dermabrasion, electrocautery, excision and grafting, decortication, and cryosurgery, among others, have been described to treat this condition, but none of them has proved very satisfactory. Special concern about the droplet dispersion of blood in dermabrasion has made this method less acceptable, as it poses a potential risk to health workers. We describe a technique in which this pro-liferative disorder can be treated, using CO2 laser excision and vaporization. This method provides a very dry surgical field, which allows the sculpting of the hypertrophic areas to be very effective, giving a very satisfactory immediate and long-term cosmetic result.

KEY WORDS

Rhinophyma - CO₂ laser - rosacea