Treatment of reticulated acropigmentation of Kitamura with Q-switched alexandrite laser.

BACKGROUND: Reticulated acropigmentation of Kitamura (RAPK) is a pigmentary disorder of autosomal dominant inheritance, occurring predominantly within the Japanese population, for which no successful treatment has been described.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to describe a 23-year-old Saudi woman with reticulated acropigmentation of Kitamura (RAPK), who was successfully treated with a 75-nm Q-switched alexandrite laser.

METHOD: To report a 23-year-old Saudi woman with reticulated acropigmentation of kitamura (RAPK) who was treated with two sessions of the Q-switched alexandrite laser, six weeks apart with no recurrence after two years.

RESULTS: Cutaneous pigmentation of reticulated acropigmentation of kitamura (RAPK) almost resolved completely in two laser sessions. Side effects were limited to transient post inflammatory hypopigmentation.

CONCLUSION: Cutaneous pigmentation of reticulated acropigmentation of kitamura (RAPK) can be effectively treated by Q-switched alexandrite (755-nm) laser, which shows a promising result, and it can be considered as treatment option, although further studies are required to confirm the effectiveness of this treatment modality with other Q-switched laser; e.g. Q-switched ND:YAG or Q-switch Ruby.