Effectiveness of pulsed dye laser in the treatment of recalcitrant warts in children.

Background: To determine the efficacy and safety of the 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) in the treatment of recalcitrant warts in children.

Methods And Material: Retrospective survey of the medical records of children with recalcitrant warts who were treated with PDL between March 1995 through January 1999 at the Children's Memorial Hospital outpatient subspecialty center, Chicago, Illinois.

Results: Sixty-one children with recalcitrant warts were treated with PDL; 75% of them had total clearance of warts after an average of 3.

Livedo reticularis in a child with moyamoya disease.

Moyamoya disease is a rare, chronic cerebrovascular occlusive disease of unknown etiology. It is characterized by progressive stenosis of the arteries of the circle of Willis leading to an abnormal capillary network and resultant ischemic strokes or cerebral hemorrhages. The association of moyamoya disease with livedo reticularis has been described in a previously reported patient with a factor V Leiden mutation, leading to hypercoagulation.

Dermatologic surgery and the pregnant patient.

Background: Because of concerns about potential harm to the mother or fetus, dermatologic surgeons are frequently hesitant to perform cutaneous surgery on pregnant patients.

Objective: To review the relevant physiologic changes during pregnancy, appropriate preparation for and timing of procedures, and drug safety.

Methods: A literature review was performed of dermatologic and nondermatologic journals discussing physiology, surgery, and drug safety in the pregnant patient.

Three members of a family with pili torti and sensorineural hearing loss: the Bjornstad syndrome.

Thirty cases of the Bjornstad syndrome (sensorineural deafness and pili torti) have been reported between 1965, when it was first described, and 1999. Both autosomal dominant and recessive inheritance patterns appear in the literature. We describe a family in which 3 members have the combination of pili torti and varying degrees of hearing loss inherited in an apparently autosomal dominant fashion.