What is it about?
Rhinophyma is a skin condition that causes the nose to become enlarged, bumpy, and red, often due to advanced rosacea. This can be both distressing and uncomfortable, sometimes making it hard to breathe through the nose. A well-known treatment for this condition involves using a carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser to remove the thickened skin and reshape the nose. However, until now, there hasn’t been much data on how effective and safe this treatment is over the long term. This study looked at 152 people with rhinophyma who were treated with CO₂ laser at a clinic in Canada over a 14-year period. The researchers wanted to know how well the treatment worked, how safe it was, how satisfied patients were, and whether certain factors (like age or skin type) could predict better or worse results. Most patients only needed one treatment session and were very satisfied with the results. In fact, over 8 out of 10 patients had noticeable improvement in the appearance of their nose. Side effects were rare and usually mild, such as light skin discoloration or small texture changes. The study also used artificial intelligence (AI) to find patterns in the data. This helped identify who was more likely to get the best results and who might need extra care—for example, older patients were slightly more at risk for lightening of the skin. Overall, the study confirms that CO₂ laser treatment is a safe and highly effective option for people with rhinophyma. The addition of AI offers exciting possibilities for tailoring treatments to individual needs.
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Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
Why is it important?
This study is the largest of its kind, involving 152 patients treated at a Canadian dermatology clinic over more than a decade. What makes this work unique is not only the size and duration of the study, but also the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze the results. By combining clinical outcomes with AI modeling, the researchers were able to discover patterns—like how age, skin type, or severity of the condition influenced the risk of side effects or recurrence. The results are highly encouraging: most patients saw lasting improvement after just one treatment, with very few complications. Older patients and those with more severe cases had different outcomes, which AI helped to clarify. This study shows that CO₂ laser treatment is not only safe and effective, but that AI can play a powerful role in personalizing care. These findings could help doctors better predict results and tailor treatments, ultimately improving both function and appearance for patients with this often-overlooked condition.
Perspectives
Rhinophyma is a condition that causes the nose to become enlarged, bumpy, and disfigured—most often in older men with advanced rosacea. It can be more than just a cosmetic issue: patients often experience difficulty breathing, social embarrassment, and reduced quality of life. One of the most precise treatments available is carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser therapy, which removes excess tissue and reshapes the nose. But despite its growing use, we lacked long-term data on how effective and safe it really is—and which patients benefit most. In this study, we analyzed the outcomes of 152 patients treated over 14 years at our clinic. What makes this work unique is not only the size and long-term follow-up, but also our use of artificial intelligence (AI) to better understand treatment outcomes. With this tool, we were able to uncover patterns—such as how age, skin type, or disease severity influence risks like skin discoloration or recurrence. From a personal perspective, this study has been especially meaningful. As both a clinician and researcher, I’ve seen firsthand the impact rhinophyma can have on people’s confidence and well-being. Being able to offer a treatment that produces such consistent, lasting results—often in a single session—is incredibly rewarding. Using AI helped us go even further by identifying ways to tailor treatments to each patient’s unique profile. Our hope is that this work helps destigmatize rhinophyma, empowers patients to seek treatment earlier, and supports physicians in delivering safer, more personalized care.
MD FRCPC Daniel Barolet
McGill University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Fully ablative CO2 laser therapy for rhinophyma: long-term efficacy, safety and insights from an artificial intelligence-assisted predictive model in a large cohort, Skin Health and Disease, July 2025, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/skinhd/vzaf042.
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