Abstrakt
Objectivses: Lentigo maligna is a common in situ malignancy in elderly patients, with a low risk of progression to an invasive tumor. Surgical treatment may be complicated or refused.
Non-surgical treatment options (such as lasers) may therefore be needed. Patients and Methods: We report on 17 patients treated with a 2940-nm Er:YAG (erbium-doped yttrium aluminum) laser for histopathologically confirmed lentigo maligna.
The lesions were ablated with a 5 mm margin of adjacent skin under local anesthesia with a 3,5 mm overlapping spot, energy density of 6,5 J/cm2 and a repetition rate of 5 Hz. If clinically visible pigmentation was seen in the ablated area during the following three months, the lesion was re-treated.
All patients were followed up for residual or recurrent tumors. Results: We achvieved clinical clearance in all 17 patients.
There were three recurrences during the follow-up period (9, 30 and 36 months after laser therapy). All patients were satisfied with the treatment course and cosmetic outcome.
The mean follow-up duration was 28 months. Conclusions: Laser ablation is an interesting alternative method for treatment of lentigo maligna.
It can be used for selected cases where surgery is contraindicated, complicated or declined by the patient.