Excision of Rhinophyma with CO2 Laser

Rhinophyma is a disfiguring disease of the nasal skin, primarily affecting white men in the 5th to 7th decades of life. It is the end stage of acne rosacea where there is hypertrophy of the sebaceous elements of the skin resulting in a cosmetic nasal deformity. Modalities of treatment include dermabrasion, scalpel shave, cryosurgery, electrocautery, near total excision with skin grafting and laser excision. Seven male adult patients, above fifty, having rhinophyma were treated in the medical laser centre (NILES, Cairo University). The CO2 laser attached to an operating microscope, or to a hand-piece was used safely and successfully in the treatment of rhinophyma under local anaesthesia. The results were comparable with others from literature, showing excellent safe removal of rhinophyma tissue by using CO2 laser with minimal scarring and morbidity.