Nevus spilus: treatment with fractional CO₂ laser in combination with MedLite C6 laser: a preliminary study

Excerpt

Nevus spilus is characterized by numerous small, darkly pigmented macules or papules on a tan-pigmented background. This lesion is also referred as “speckled lentiginous nevus,” “zosteriform lentiginous nevus,” or “spotty nevus” [1, 2]. It can be a junctional nevus, compound nevus, Spitz nevus, or blue nevus [3]. The lesions are usually located on the trunk, extremities, or following the lines of Blaschko. The café au lait spots have diameters of 1–4 cm, and diameters of the pigmented spots are 1–6 mm. The brown patch located in the nevus spilus exhibits a histologic change, from a proliferation of melanocytes to elongation as a cuticular process [4]. Because the nevus spilus is large and is especially located on exposed parts of the skin, it may seriously affect a person’s appearance. Thus, it needs to be treated, although surgery is not suitable in many cases [5]. In this study, we used a fractional CO₂ laser in combination with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (MedLite C6, Cynosure, Inc., Westford, MA, USA) for treating each nevus spilus and achieved satisfactory cosmetic effects. …