LAUSR

To the Editor: Rhinophyma is a progressive and disfiguring proliferative disorder of the nose. It is most commonly seen in association with chronic rosacea and historically it has been considered the final end stage of rosacea. Clinically, rhinophyma may present a combination of characteristics including telangectasia, erythema, thickening, and coarsening of the nasal skin texture. Nasal outflow obstruction by rhinophymatous tissue can lead to obstructive sleep apnoea. Rhinophyma is often the cause of cosmetic embarrassment and social reclusion (Madan, Ferguson, & August, 2009). Nowadays the therapeutic possibilities for rhinophyma are highly variable and they have to be assessed case by case. These options include pharmacological therapy (isotretinoin), laser (CO2, argon, Nd: YAG), hydrodissection, mechanical dermabrasion, surgical excision (Redett, Manson, Goldberg, Girotto, & Spence, 2001; Sharma, Ramana, Makkar, & Nanda, 2005; Taghizadeh, Mackay, & Gilbert, 2008). In particular, the CO2 laser creates a wavelength of 10,600 nm and is characterized by its high affinity to water. As skin contains a very high percentage of water, this leads to an almost complete absorption