Surgical treatment of rhinophyma: a comparison of techniques.

Rhinophyma is a rare disease that primarily affects Caucasian men in the fifth to seventh decades of life, characterized by a progressive thickening of nasal skin, which produces a disfiguring soft-tissue hypertrophy of the nose. Severe cosmetic deformity and impairment of breathing may coexist, making the surgical treatment necessary. The authors are conscious that in literature there is not agreement about the ideal treatment of rhinophyma, nevertheless they wish to give their contribution according to their experience with different treatment modalities such as the scalpel, the electrocautery, the dermabrader, and the carbon dioxide laser.