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Successful treatment of traumatic scars with combined nonablative fractional laser and pinpoint technique of standard CO 2 laser
Author(s) -
Ibrahim Shady M.,
Elsaie Mohamed L.,
Kamel Mohamed Ismail,
Mohammed EssamEldin
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
dermatologic therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.595
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1529-8019
pISSN - 1396-0296
DOI - 10.1111/dth.12306
Subject(s) - medicine , scars , laser , dermatology , surgery , optics , physics
Abstract To evaluate the use of a pinpoint irradiation technique followed by nonablative fractional technique in treatment of traumatic scars. Thirteen patients with traumatic sacrs were treated with pinpoint technique of CO 2 laser using traditional headpiece activating laser at a frequency (50 Hz) to deliver pulsed mode with power of 1 W using the focusing technique followed by 3–5 passes of the nonablative 1540 nm fractional Er:glass laser. An independent physician evaluator assessed the treatment outcomes using Vancouver scar scale (VSS) and 5‐point grading scale (grade 0, no improvement; grade 1, 1–25%; grade 2, 26–50%; grade 3, 51–75%; grade 4, 76–100% improvement). After the final treatment, average percentage changes of VSS were 41.5%. Improvement was evident in terms of vascularity, pigmentation, and height, while insignificant in terms of Pliability. Based on physician's global assessment, mean grade of 2.5 was achieved. Patient's subjective satisfaction scores paralleled the physician's objective evaluation. Pinpoint irradiation technique by CO 2 laser followed by nonablative fractional laser is a safe and effective modality in treatment of scars.