Rhinophyma, a late complication of
rosacea (phymatous subtype), is a chronic, progressive dermatological condition. The classic pre- sentation of
rhinophyma is nodular, thickened skin over the distal nose, and is often accompanied by underlying
erythema secondary to in ammation. Due to the unpleasant aesthetic and dis guring appearance,
rhinophyma may be associated with a signi cant
nega- tive psychosocial impact, resulting in decreased patient quality-of-life. Treatment of
rhinophyma is challenging as topical and systemic
pharmacotherapies have shown limited ef cacy. We present a case of a 39-year-old African-American male with long-standing, mild
rhinophyma who was successfully treated with two sessions of fractionated
carbon dioxide (
CO2) laser. We also review the medical literature on fractionated
CO2 laser treatment of
rhinophyma. To the best of our knowledge, this is the rst report of successful treat- ment of
rhinophyma using fractionated
CO2 laser in an African-American man (Fitzpatrick VI). We believe that fractionated
CO2 laser may be a safe and ef cacious treatment modality for
rhinophyma in skin of color patients (Fitzpatrick IV-VI) and early intervention with fractionated
CO2 laser to prevent
rhinophyma worsening may yield better results than late intervention. <em>J Drugs Dermatol. 2016;15(11):1465-1468.</em>.