Treating viral venereal infections with the CO2 laser.

Viral venereal infections caused by herpes simplex virus 2 and papillomavirus (wart) are epidemic diseases in the United States. Unfortunately, these two infections have eluded conventional therapy to date. Therefore, 306 women were treated for viral venereal diseases with the CO2 laser. Two hundred twenty-eight patients were treated for condyloma acuminatum and 78 for genital herpes. All the patients who underwent treatment for herpes were enrolled in an investigative protocol. Since the viral organisms of both diseases replicate in either the basal or prickle cell layers of the epithelium, deep laser treatment is not necessary; treatment to a depth of 1 to 2 mm is adequate. The average power densities ranged from 311 to 660 w/cm2. Herpes patients responded with relief of pain and elimination of viral infectivity for that cycle. Patients with primary herpes were "cured" in 83% of cases. C. acuminatum could be eliminated with the CO2 laser in virtually every woman.