Is Cryosurgery or Curettage More Effective at Treating Seborrheic Keratoses?

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center25 enrolled

Overview

Seborrheic keratoses (SK's) are very common, but harmless skin lesions that commonly appear during adult life. Patients with seborrheic keratoses frequently desire treatment due to symptoms of itching and irritation or for cosmetic purposes. Seborrheic keratoses can be easily removed and have been treated in a number of different ways. Two of the simplest and most successful ways to remove seborrheic keratoses are cryosurgery and curettage. The investigators are conducting this study to see which of these two treatments has the best result. Approximately 24-30 people will take part in this research study at the Hershey Medical Center.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

Conditions

Seborrheic Keratosis

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 75 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * have at least 1 seborrheic keratosis on each side of his/her trunk or proximal extremities. * be able to understand the consent form and evaluation of treatment questionnaire. Exclusion Criteria: * Children \<18 are excluded from this study based on their inability to independently complete the informed consent and research associated questionnaire.

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Partial or complete resolution of treated lesion.

Follow up evaluation by a blinded physician along with the gathering of patient information via questionnaires will be obtained at the completion of the study.

Time frame: 6 weeks