Laser Therapy in Psoriasis

Treatment options for psoriasis are numerous and span a wide array of modalities. For mild-to-moderate disease, topical therapy may be adequate for complete control; however, moderate-to-severe disease often requires systemic agents or phototherapy. Laser therapy is also a helpful tool in the armamentarium against psoriasis. For localized disease that is not adequately controlled with topicals or for lesions in difficult-to-treat areas, laser therapy may be an ideal treatment option. Lasers enable the delivery of therapeutic radiation to lesional skin only, thus sparing non-lesional skin from any possible adverse events. Over the past few decades, various lasing devices have been demonstrated to be safe and effective treatment options for psoriasis. The most commonly used devices include the 308-nm excimer laser and the 585 or 595-nm pulsed dye laser. Despite recent advances in targeted biologic therapy, lasers continue to play an important role in the management of psoriatic disease.