An ablative carbon dioxide fractional laser demonstrated superiority over a V-beam pulsed dye laser with regard to pliability and thickness in a cohort of 10 Korean patients with scars, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.
Researchers in Korea aimed to compare ablative carbon dioxide fractional laser and the V-beam pulsed dye laser for improvement of surgical scars in a cohort of 10 Korean patients.
The study had a randomized, blinded, split-scar design.
All patients were treated on one half of the scar with a 10,600-nm ablative carbon dioxide fractional laser. The contralateral half of the scar was treated with the 595-nm V-beam pulsed dye laser.
Treatments began 2 to 3 weeks after surgery. Patients were followed up for 2 months after treatment for the scars was initiated.
Scar outcome was evaluated by a nontreating physician investigator, who used The Vancouver Scar Scale, which assesses for four variables: vascularity, thickness, pliability and pigmentation.
Results indicated improvements on both sides of scars after treatment. The overall mean improvement score was 59.7% on the side with the ablative carbon dioxide fractional laser, compared with 47.2% on the side with the V-beam pulsed dye laser (P<.001).
The ablative carbon dioxide fractional laser was more effective than the V-beam pulsed laser in each variable pertaining to improvement of pliability and thickness. However, the V-beam pulsed laser was superior in improvement of vascularity and pigmentation.
For more information:
Oh G. #5241. Postoperative treatment of surgical scars with ablative fractional laser versus pulsed dye laser: A randomized controlled trial. Presented at: The 70th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. March 16-20, 2012. San Diego, Calif.