Comparative study on efficacy of CO2 LASER and Radiofrequency unit in treatment of Nevomelanocytic nevus

Abstract

Unintended thermal damage occuring during surgery with an electrosurgery unit limits its usefulness
because of slow healing and increased scarring. The superpulsed radiofrequency unit was developed to address
this problem. To evaluate effectiveness of therapy, healing time, rates of scarring and global assessment of
superpulsed radiofrequency unit (RF) and carbon dioxide laser (CO2 LASER), 30 patients with two separate
equivalent lesions of nevomelanocytic nevus were enrolled in a prospective controlled trial. Topical
lidocaine/prilocaine cream (EMLA) was used to reduce pain in both procedures. In RF and CO2LASER groups,
the lesions were completely removed in one treatment with successful rate of 93% and 86.67%, respectively.
There was no significant difference in healing time, rates of scarring and rates of pigmentary changes. The
global assessment scores by patient in RF groups was statistically significant higher than in CO2 groups
(p=0.042), but the global assessment scores by dermatologists was not statistically significant difference (p=0.56). Finally, at the end of treatment, 80% of patient prefered the CO2 LASER than RF due to less pain.
These results suggest that the superpulsed radiofrequency unit is shown to be as effective as carbon dioxide
laser in treatment of nevomelanocytic nevus. There should be reconsideration to be an optional treatment for
benign epidermal skin lesion.