Electrocautery versus ablative CO2 laser in the treatment of seborrheic keratoses: a clinical and histopathological study

Background Seborrheic keratosis is one of the most common benign epidermal skin tumors. Its pathogenesis remains largely unclear. The treatment of choice is ablation of the lesion by curettage, shave excision, electrocautery, cryotherapy, or ablative lasers. Objective The aim of this study was to compare electrocautery and CO2 laser ablation in the treatment of seborrheic keratosis through clinical and histopathological assessment. Patients and methods This study was carried out on 30 patients with seborrheic keratoses divided into two equal groups. In group A, the lesions were desiccated by electrocautery, whereas in group B, the lesions were ablated by CO2 laser. Before treatment, a punch biopsy was taken from the lesion to confirm the diagnosis. After 1 month, another punch biopsy was taken from the treated area to study the histopathological changes and the efficacy of each treatment modality. Results There were no significant differences between the two groups in the clinical efficacy of the treatment, post-therapy complaints and complications, recovery time, and recurrence rate. The histological efficacy of both treatment modalities was almost the same. Conclusion Both electrodesiccation and CO2 laser ablation are highly effective and show satisfactory cosmetic outcomes in the treatment of seborrheic keratosis.