The Successful Laser Treatment of Neurofibromatosis-Six Years Experience

Abstract

Being a hereditary disease, neurofibromatosis (NF) does not lend itself to causal therapy. Since the genetic changes affect only a limited number of cells, the extent of the skin lesions is itself determined in advance and thus also limited. This holds great significance in any treatment applied to the skin lesions of NF. Briefly stated, an NF tumor that has been removed completely (leaving no remnants) cannot recur at the same site. The predetermined total number of neurofibromas that may arise is thus reduced by one. Considered under symptomatic therapy, this is the basis upon which present-day treatment of NF skin lesions is founded. The experience which we have acquired during the past six years reveals, in regard to laser therapy, that the amenability of the skin lesions to treatment is better or less so in certain phases of their development and that the results of treatment can be maximized by using different laser systems. Accordingly we have categorized neurofibromatous skin lesions in three stages: 1) incipient stage, 2) developed NF, and 3) confluent tumors — the bizarre stage of NF.