title: Successful treatment of Dowling-Degos disease with Er:YAG laser.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. joerg.wenzel@ukb.uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tappe
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gerdsen
authors.forename: Manfred
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uerlich
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Philipp-Dormston
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bieber
authors.forename: Welisar
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Petrow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D010859:Pigmentation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000532:radiotherapy*