Comparison of treatment options for small to medium congenital melanocytic nevi: A retrospective review of 119 cases

• Published in: Lasers in surgery and medicine 2019-01, Vol.51 (1), p.62-67
• Main Authors: Lim, Jung Min, Oh, Yeongjoo, Lee, Si‐Hyung, Cho, Mi Yeon, Chung, Kee Yang, Roh, Mi Ryung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ablation; Adolescent; Adult; Child; Child, Preschool; congenital melanocytic nevi; Dermatologic Surgical Procedures - methods; Female; Humans; Immunoglobulin A; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Laser Therapy - methods; laser treatment; Lasers; Lesions; Male; Middle Aged; Nevus, Pigmented - radiotherapy; Nevus, Pigmented - surgery; Patient satisfaction; Patients; Republic of Korea; Retrospective Studies; staged excision; Surgery
• ISSN: 0196-8092; 1096-9101
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.23030

Objectives For small to medium sized congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN), the treatment of choice is staged surgical excision. Ablative lasers or pigment‐specific lasers have also been recommended for lesions difficult for surgical removal or to avoid surgery. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the results of several treatment options for CMN to find out the optimal treatment method. Methods Patients with small to medium sized CMN were retrospectively reviewed. Treatment options were categorized into four groups: (i) Excision only; (ii) Excision followed by scar laser; (iii) Excision followed by pigment‐specific laser; and (iv) Laser only. Treatment response was assessed by investigator's global assessment (IGA) score on a seven‐point scale. Results A total of 119 cases were included. Lesions were most commonly located on the face (59/119, 49.6%), measured 2 ∼ 10 cm in size (72/119, 60.5%), and treated with excision only (50/119, 42.0%). Among treatment options, excision followed by scar laser showed the highest IGA score of 6.38. Options including surgical methods showed higher IGA scores compared to laser‐only treatment (P