Therapeutic Effects of 308 nm Excimer Laser in the Treatment of Vitiligo Patients: A Single Center Study in Korea

Hong, Kwang Cheol; Kim, Myoung Shin; Lee, Un Ha; Park, Hyun Su

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Treatment with a 308 nm excimer laser has been used widely for vitiligo. However, there have been few clinical reports about the therapeutic effects of excimer laser in the Korean literature.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of treatment of vitiligo patients in Korea using a 308 nm excimer laser.
METHODS
Eighty-five patients were treated using a 308 nm excimer laser, which was performed twice a week, for a total of 20 treatments. We analyzed the grade of repigmentation with respect to various clinical parameters.
RESULTS
Thirty-one of the 85 patients (36.5%) achieved more than 50% repigmentation. Response to treatment was related to age, duration of vitiligo, type of vitiligo and site of lesions (respectively, p=0.049, 0.030, 0.001, 0.001). There were no relationship between treatment response, sex and history of previous treatments (respectively, p=0.636, 0.781). Twenty-nine patients (34.1%) had side effects including erythema, perilesional hyperpigmentation and burn, but they were mild and transient.
CONCLUSION
The use of a 308 nm excimer laser for the treatment of vitiligo patients is effective and safe. However, patient age, duration of vitiligo, type of vitiligo and site of lesions may be the key factors affecting the clinical outcome.