Background: Facial injuries due to flying windscreen glass pieces are common in road accident and require surgical intervention by plastic surgeons to debride, suture, and dress the injuries. Posthealing patients visit dermatologists for further treatment of residual scar tissue. Interestingly, tiny papules or small nodular scars seen on otherwise level background which persists for beyond 3 months (scar modeling time) may actually harbor small fragments of glass. Such lesions can only be treated by fractional CO2 therapy.
Methods: Two patients who had papules and small nodular lesions on the accident scarred areas were subjected to fractional CO2 laser (ultraPulse, Lumenis)with moderate fluence and high density, once and observed over a period of 12 weeks.
Results: On targeting the papules and small nodules, tiny particles of glass appeared out of the broken lesions.
Discussion: Irrespective of the surgery done on accident victims involving windshield glass injuries, fractional CO2 may be considered at a later stage, especially with presence of papules interspersed in the area of facial scars.
Keywords: accident scar; fluence; fractional CO2 laser; particles of glass.
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