Treatment

The indication for treatment of seborrhoeic keratosis is patient concern over irritation or cosmesis. Infrequently, lesions may be removed to confirm the diagnosis or benign nature of a clinical change.

Treatment modalities include:

• surgical excision: the recommended route if the features are not entirely suggestive of classical seborrhoeic keratosis
• curettage
• cryotherapy: may be associated with subsequent changes in pigmentation and it is not effective in the treatment of very thick lesions (1)
• laser therapy, - YAG laser, pulsed carbon dioxide laser, or 532 diode laser, but these options may involve more patient discomfort and recovery time (2)
• topical trichloroacetic acid (3)

The application of topical retinoic acid (tretinoin) has also demonstrated good clinical results (3)

Reference:

1. Motley RJ. Seborrheic keratosis. In: Lebwohl MG, Heymann WR, Berth-Jones J, et al, eds. Treatment of skin disease. Comprehensive therapeutic strategies. London: Mosby; 2006:609-610.
2. Polder KD, Landau JM, Vergilis-Kalner IJ, et al. Laser eradication of pigmented lesions: a review. Dermatol Surg. 2011;37:572-595.
3. Ortonne JP, Pandya AG, Lui H, et al. Treatment of solar lentigines. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2006;54(suppl 2):S262-S271.