INTRODUCTION
Molluscum contagiosum (MC) is a benign contagious viral skin infection that causes smooth flesh-colored pearly umbilicated papules.1,2 A member of the Poxviridae family, the MC virus is transmitted by direct skin-to-skin contact, fomites or via autoinoculation, and is common among school-age children, sexually active young adults and AIDS patients.1,3,4 The skin lesions can appear anywhere on the body, but they typically do not cause any discomfort and resolve without treatment in 6-9 months. Therapeutic minimalism is the usual approach to management.3,5,6 However, there are cases of MC where treatment is requested by the patient or recommended by the physician.5
A number of treatment options are available for MC, but no therapy is universally effective. The most popular therapies can be grouped into three broad categories—topical or intralesional therapy, physical destruction, and systemic treatment.5 The topical or intralesional therapies for MC include: tretinoin, podophyllotoxin, cantharadin, and imiquimod.5,7 These treatments have varying degrees of success and must be used for a long period of time.5 Methods of physical destruction include: curettage, cryotherapy, manual extraction, electrodessication, and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser.5,8All of these procedures are painful, time-consuming and can cause scarring.5,9 Furthermore, curettage and manual extraction cause bleeding, making them undesirable treatment options for AIDS patients. Systemic therapy for MC includes oral cimetidine and cidofovir. Both medications have undesirable systemic side effects and must be taken on a daily basis for weeks. In addition, there have been reports of unsuccessful clearance of MC with these medications.10
In contrast to the aforementioned treatments, the pulsed dye laser (PDL) has been reported to be a safe, well tolerated, quick, and highly effective treatment for MC without any apparent permanent adverse effects. Reports in the literature pertaining to the use of PDL to treat MC, however, are limited to case reports and a few large case series. To our knowledge,
