PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY IN VERRUCA PLANA

Abstract

erruca plana, is a chronic, benign, and usually self limiting skin lesion that often attacks young people. It typically presents as skin-colored or light brownish, flattoppedpapules on the face, beard area, dorsal hands and shins and easily relapses after treatment, which usually affects patient appearance and confidence. The pathogen of verruca plana is the HPV, types 3, 10, 28 and 41 and a large portion of the infection is either subclinical or latent, which is probably responsible for recurrence after treatment. The infection spread by direct skinto- skin contact or by autoinoculation. Traditional therapies, include salicylic acid, imiquimod, cryotherapy, retinoid, intralesional immunotherapy, Q-switched Nd-YAG, PDL, CO2 laser, electrocautery, and utilization of INF-α . They often cause pigmentation, scars, and especially relapses that are difficult to resolve. Relapses are very common because the traditional therapeutic approaches are less successful in eradicating the total HPV infection, especially the subclinical and latent infections. Photodynamic therapy with topical PS application followed by irradiation with visible light has been recently proposed for the treatment of verruca plana. The PDT is a safe, noninvasive technique. In comparison with the other techniques V