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Case Reports
. 2020 May 20:2020:7428472.
doi: 10.1155/2020/7428472. eCollection 2020.

Auto-Administered Photobiomodulation on Diabetic Leg Ulcers Treatment: A New Way to Manage It?

Elisabetta Merigo  1 , Lixin Tan  2 , Zengyi Zhao  2   3 , Jean-Paul Rocca  1   3 , Carlo Fornaini  1   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Auto-Administered Photobiomodulation on Diabetic Leg Ulcers Treatment: A New Way to Manage It?

Elisabetta Merigo et al. Case Rep Med. .

Abstract

Background: Peripheral arterial disease is a dramatic consequence of an uncontrolled diabetic condition causing an increase of morbidity and mortality and its treatment is currently medical or surgical, finally requiring, in the 7-20% of cases, major or minor amputation. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBM) is a laser treatment used in medicine, thanks to its ability to stimulate the wound healing, the acceleration of inflammatory process, and the modulation of pain. Recently, the self-administration of the treatment has been suggested for different purposes in medicine and dentistry with a great number of advantages and no side effects.

Methods: A 84-year-old woman affected by diabetes type 2 and positive for diabetes complications had diagnosis for an ulcerative lesion of 1 cm diameter on her right leg and started a treatment of the lesion applying the B-Cure Laser Pro (Erika Carmel, Haifa, Israel) on her own with a fluence per minute of 3.2 J/cm2 for 2 sessions of 15 minutes by cutaneous application.

Results: After a week of treatment, the ulcer dried and crusted, finally providing complete healing after 30 days of treatment.

Conclusion: With this short case report, we think to add a further contribution by suggesting this kind of treatment for successful management of the leg ulcers in diabetic patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
First clinical observation of ulcerative lesions on the right leg.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The device used for the treatment of the case, B-Cure Laser Pro (Erika Carmel, Haifa, Israel), emitting in the infrared spectrum (808 nm).
Figure 3
Figure 3
At-home application of laser B-Cure on ulcerative lesion: a simple transparent plastic bag was used to wrap the laser and to maintain sterility.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Clinical appearance after a week of treatment: the smallest ulcers (upper and right lower) dried and crusted, and the largest one (lower) achieved a significant improvement.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Complete healing of all the lesions after 30 days of the laser treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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