Treatments For Lichen Sclerosus (BXO)

Please note that we are unable to treat women with lichen sclerosus. There is a range of treatments for lichen sclerosus, depending upon individual needs and the severity of the condition.

Topical steroid

Steroid creams and ointments reduce inflammation and a strong steroid used regularly for approximately three months may enable the skin to return to normal. However, if the condition has been untreated for a long period of time, significantly changing the skin, steroid cream is likely to be less effective.

Circumcision

Lichen sclerosus tends to develop in the warm, moist, urine-exposed environment that exists under the foreskin. It is rare among men circumcised in childhood. In removing the moist skin folds and allowing the surface of the glans to dry out, circumcision normally stops symptoms and often permanently cures the disease.

Glans resurfacing

If the lichen sclerosus is severe, affecting the urethra and a large section of the penile shaft, it may be necessary to undertake glans resurfacing.

This is a specialist procedure, only carried out by a small number of UK specialists, and involves taking a skin graft from another part of the body and implanting the graft in the affected areas. Skin is often taken from the thigh area.

When this procedure for the treatment of lichen sclerosus is undertaken by an experienced specialist, studies show there is a full return to normal sexual function and activity. Resurfacing or reconstruction can ensure a normal-appearing and functional penis, the report concludes.