title: Treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis with cryosurgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The management of cutaneous leishmaniasis with topical methods, if effective, can spare patients from long and costly inpatient treatments.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventeen patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis were treated with cryosurgery using liquid nitrogen as the cryogen. Two cycles of 10-30 s freezing time were used and repeated at 3-week intervals.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All patients responded well to therapy with excellent cosmetic results and no relapse in any case. Side-effects were rare.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cutaneous leishmaniasis can be successfully treated with a simple protocol of cryosurgery with minor side-effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cryosurgery, Third Department of Dermatology and Venereology, University of Athens School of Medicine, A. Syggros Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Antonios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panagiotopoulos
authors.forename: Panagiotis G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Stavropoulos
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hasapi
authors.forename: Anastasia-Metaxia
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Papakonstantinou
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petridis
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Katsambas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D003452:Cryosurgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D062109:Dermatologic Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D017496:Hypopigmentation / Q000209:etiology; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome