Successful treatment of Dowling-Degos disease with Er:YAG laser.
BACKGROUND
Dowling-Degos disease is a rare condition with a genetically determined disturbance of epidermal proliferation. The typical clinical picture is a reticulate pigmentation of the flexures, genital folds, and pectoral skin areas. Many different treatment options have been tried in recent years without a convincing therapeutic benefit.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of Er:YAG laser in Dowling-Degos disease.


METHODS
A 44-year-old woman suffering from Dowling-Degos disease was treated with the Er:YAG laser pulse energy between 1,000 and 1,200 mJ, three consecutive passes.


RESULTS
The laser treatment led to a good clinical result.


CONCLUSIONS
Our case suggest that treatment with the Er:YAG laser might be a successful strategy in Dowling-Degos disease.
Wenzel
Joerg
J
Department of Dermatology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. joerg.wenzel@ukb.uni-bonn.de
Tappe
Katja
K
Gerdsen
Rainer
R
Uerlich
Manfred
M
Philipp-Dormston
Wolfgang
W
Bieber
Thomas
T
Petrow
Welisar
W
D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy*