General manifestations of Behçet's syndrome and the success of CO2-laser as treatment for oral lesions: a review of the literature and case presentation.

Abstract

This article reviews the oral manifestations of Behçet's Syndrome that have been discussed in the literature and presents the success of the use of CO2-laser for recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Behçet's Syndrome is a multisystem inflammatory disease that has the capacity to affect nearly every human system. It is characterized by a wide range of clinical features. In particular the defining symptom in most cases is recurrent aphthous stomatitis present in the oral cavity. RAS is the most common inflammatory ulcerative condition to affect the oral cavity and is characterized by localized, painful ulcers that may be a manifestation of more complicated diseases, such as Behçet's Syndrome. There is no effective treatment for RAS. In most cases, RAS is managed by anesthetic topical treatments, topical or systemic steroids, or antibiotics. More recently, though, there has been evidence of possible benefit from treatment of aphthous lesions with CO2-lasers. Our experience treating a patient who suffered from Behçet's Syndrome and RAS showed transient pain relief with the use of CO2 ablative laser as a monotherapy.