Clinical application of lasers in the treatment of nail disorders

Nail disorders, including onyxis, onychomycosis and onychodystrophy, are usually difficult to treat in clinical practice, and often bother both patients and clinicians. With the application of lasers, much progress has been made in the treatment of nail diseases. CO2 laser exerts a favorable therapeutic effect on onyxis by quickly damaging local tissues, resecting hypertrophic nail folds, and instantly coagulating small vessels. Nd: YAG laser, fractional CO2 laser and diode laser provide new options for the treatment of onychomycosis. Moreover, fractional CO2 laser could evidently enhance penetrance and absorption of topical agents into nails by forming microscopic treatment zones, and have shown definite efficacy in the treatment of onychodystrophy. Key words: Nails; Laser therapy; Mycoses; Malnutrition; Safety