Treatment of Nevus of Ota in Fitzpatrick skin type VI with the 1064-nm QS Nd:YAG laser.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Nevus of Ota is a pigmented lesion that usually presents at birth. Due to a greater risk for complications, physicians have not always utilized laser therapy to treat these nevi in patients with darker skin types. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the 1,064-nm Q-switched neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (QS NdYAG) laser for the treatment of Nevus of Ota in two patients with Fitzpatrick skin type (FST) VI. RESULTS: After 4-13 treatment sessions with the 1,064-nm Q-switched NdYAG laser with a 4 mm spot size and fluence of 4-4.2 J/cm(2), two patients with FST VI noted substantial improvement in the appearance of the nevi. CONCLUSION: At conservative treatment settings, these two case reports have shown that the 1,064-nm QS NdYAG laser can be utilized to safely and effectively treat Nevus of Ota in individuals with FST IV-VI.