Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus responsive to 308-nm excimer laser treatment

Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus (ILVEN) is a rare cutaneous disease that presents as linear psoriasiform plaques with associated prominent pruritus. The lesions commonly pre-sent on the legs with onset during childhood. Inflammatory linear verrucous epidermal nevus typically is refractory to treatment. Therapies range from topical treatments to lasers and surgical options. It is clinically and histopathologically similar to psoriasis, suggesting it may respond to established psoriasis treatments such as the excimer laser. We report the case of an otherwise healthy 20-year-old woman with dry, pruritic, red lesions on the right leg that had been present since infancy. Biopsy revealed psoriasiform hyperplasia with a verruciform surface. Multiple topical treatments including ablative CO₂ laser therapy showed no remarkable improvement. The patient was then treated with a UV 308-nm excimer laser and showed noticeable clinical improvement. Because of its clinical and histopathological similarities to psoriasis, we hypothesized that the excimer laser may be useful in the treatment of these lesions.