Hypopigmentation

Four years ago I was diagnosed with genital warts, which were treated with cryotherapy. The warts were gone three years ago, but the treatment left me with a fairly large white scar, or hypopigmentation, on my penis. This shows up more because the pigment of my penis is much darker than the rest of my body. There has been no change in the scar for this time, so I saw my GP who prescribed hydrocortisine cream. I tried this for one month but there was no change. I was then referred to a dermatologist who has prescribed dermovate. I have only been using this for a few days, but the scar appears to be pinker than it was. Is this normal? What should I expect from the treatment, and over what time scale?

I was wondering what the prognosis was for hypopigmentation? Most of the doctors I've seen have suggested that there wasn't much that could be done. The problem is I have avoided all relationships for the past four years, and don't feel comfortable starting one with this obvious scar. This problem has resulted in a loss of my sex life.

If these steroid creams do not work, what alternatives are there and what are their likely success rates? Thanks in advance.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Hypopigmentation is a side effect of cryotherapy and laser treatment. It is very difficult to treat but sometimes it goes away on its own after exposure to the sun. Creams like  Elidel cream or Protropic can be used on these hypopigmented  areas but they are not without side effects. If the symptoms still persist then  you can talk to your dermatologist about laser-assisted chemabrasion(LACA).

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.