The tuberous sclerosis complex

Abstract

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TCS) is a neurocutaneous syndrome affecting the skin, central nervous system, heart, kidney, lung and other sites of the human body. The onset of facial angiofibromas (FA) is at about 5 years old and becomes more evident later. After puberty, FA lesions grow and may bleed, often causing discomfort. The primary treatments for FA include: lasers, dermabrassion, electrosurgery, podophyllin, photodynamic therapy followed by pulsed dye laser and topical rapamycin. An advantage of cryosurgery is that it can be performed without anesthesia. Cryosurgery is rarely documented as a treatment for FA in general. We treated four female patients affected by TSC and FA with cryosurgery. All patients improved after a series of treatments. In our experience, cryosurgery is effective, efficient, relatively inexpensive and easy to perform. Furthermore, according to the patient's clinical evolution, it can be repeatable from time to time.