Using the pulsed dye laser to influence scar formation after breast reduction surgery: a preliminary report

Many patients undergoing bilateral breast reduction surgery develop problems. Foremost among these problems is scar hypertrophy and its attendant symptoms. Although there is as yet no firm prognostic indicator for hypertrophy, scars that become hypertrophic often have a particular blood vessel pattern, observable by transcutaneous microscopy, showing vessels that lay transversely across the incision line with minimal crosslinks between them. Hypertrophic scars that develop in incision lines become wide, with the final width of the scar dependent on the maximum thickness during the growth stages before maturation and resolution. Close monitoring of scars forming in the incision line using the transcutaneous microscope detected this aligned vessel pattern before overt hypertrophy was seen. Use of the Pulsed Dye Laser caused disruption in the vessel pattern, appeared to inhibit additional hypertrophic development, and promoted early maturation of scars.