Safety and effectiveness of 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy combined with fractional micro-plasma radio-frequency treatment for verrucous epidermal nevus: A retrospective study with long-term follow-up.

Verrucous epidermal nevus (VEN) is a benign skin disease that seriously affects appearance. Numerous therapeutic methods have been tried with varying results. However, there are few reports on the treatment of VEN by photodynamic therapy (PDT). This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT in VEN treatment with a long-term follow-up. A total of 16 patients with VEN received ALA-PDT and were followed up for more than 1 year to observe the treatment effects, adverse reactions, and patients' satisfaction. Complete improvement of lesions was observed in 11 patients (three to six sessions of ALA-PDT). Two patients obtained 90-99% improvement (five sessions) and 50-89% improvement in three patients (three to six sessions). They were satisfied with the treatment effects, with an average satisfaction of 4.19/5 (±0.91). Long-term follow-up ranging 14-50 months showed a low recurrence rate (2/16) and no scar left after ALA-PDT. The results demonstrate that ALA-PDT is an effective and safe therapy in treating VEN with mild adverse reactions and a low risk of scar formation.