Early fractional carbon dioxide laser intervention for postsurgical scars in skin of color

Shady M Ibrahim; Wael M Saudi; Mohamed F Abozeid; Mohamed L Elsaie

doi:10.2147/CCID.S177622

Early fractional carbon dioxide laser intervention for postsurgical scars in skin of color

Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2019 Jan 4:12:29-34. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S177622. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Shady M Ibrahim¹, Wael M Saudi², Mohamed F Abozeid³, Mohamed L Elsaie⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
² Department of Dermatology, Misr University for Science & Technology, 6th of October City, Egypt.
³ Department of Plastic surgery, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt, Egydoc77@yahoo.com.

Abstract

Background: Fractional CO₂ laser is one of the most effective treatment options used to resurface scars.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of early treatment of postsurgical scar by fractional ablative CO₂ laser.

Methods: A total of 27 Egyptian patients with recent postoperative scars were enrolled in this study. Three sessions of fractional CO₂ laser with a 1-month interval were started 4 weeks after surgery. Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) was used as an assessment tool at 1 and 3 months after the final treatment. Patients reported their satisfaction using a subjective 4-point scale.

Results: Results demonstrated a statistically significant overall average improvement of the VSS (5.33±1.33) before compared with (2.55±1.06) 3 months after the last laser treatment (P≤0.001). Among the individual parameters in the VSS, the most significant improvements were found in pigmentation, height, and pliability. Patient's subjective satisfaction scores showed a significant greater degree of satisfaction after laser treatment.

Conclusion: Fractional ablative CO₂ laser is an effective and safe treatment modality for surgical scars in the early postsurgical period.

Keywords: CO2 laser; fractional; scar.