LASER TREATMENT OF SCARS

BACKGROUND. Erythermatous and hypertrophic scars may occur after surgical procedures. This paper describes a novel technique for their resolution. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this paper is to describe long-term results of treating erythematous, hypertrophic scars with the flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (FLPDL). METHODS. Forty-eight patients who presented with erythema tous/hypertrophic scars were treated with the FLPDL with or without intralesional triamcinolone. Patients were evaluated by physicians on a 25% increment of objective improvement. RESULTS. Seventy-three percent of scars appearing on the face for less than 1 year totally resolved in an average of 2.3 treatments. Twenty percent of scars on the face for greater than 1 year had a total resolution in 4.4 treatments with an average improvement of 88%. Scars on nonfacial areas for less than 1 year had a 25% incidence of total resolution over an average of 2.5 treatments with an average improvement of 81%. Scars in nonfacial distributions over 1 year of age had a 12% total resolution with an average 62% improvement over 2.2 treatments. CONCLUSION. The FLPDL is a useful adjuvant in the treatment of erythematous, hypertrophic scars.