A retrospective analysis of the clinical efficacies and recurrence of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser treatment of nevus of Ota in 224 Chinese patients.

Background: Nevus of Ota can be treated successfully using the Q-switched (QS) laser; but few studies are long-term retrospective of the efficacy and influencing factor, studies on the recurrence is even less. Purpose: Retrospective analysis of the clinical characteristics and recurrence of QS Nd:YAG laser treatment of nevus of Ota in 224 Chinese patients at Laser Cosmetology Center of Department of Dermatology, the Second Hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University. Methods: The data of 224 patients with nevus of Ota were analyzed retrospectively, which included the correlation among lesion color, treatment sessions, gender, age, lesion types and effect, and all patients were followed up for 2-10 years. Results: Higher number of treatment sessions that were conducted using the QS Nd:YAG laser system was positively associated with better responses to treatment. 99.11% of patients acquired more than 75% improvement with an average of 3.7 sessions. Only eight patients (3.57%) who had been completely cleared developed recurrence at the same site as before. Conclusion: The treatment of nevus of Ota with QS Nd:YAG laser is safe and effective with rare recurrence.