Development and validation of a novel scar evaluation scale.

Area of Science:

• Plastic surgery
• Dermatology
• Cosmetic outcomes

Background:

• Previous wound evaluation scales were not designed for long-term scar assessment.
• Existing scales have been used off-label for long-term scar evaluation.
• A specific scale for long-term scar appearance was needed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new scar evaluation scale.
• To specifically measure the long-term cosmetic appearance of scars.
• To assess the reliability and validity of the new scale.

Main Methods:

• Two plastic surgeons and one emergency physician evaluated 50 scar photographs.
• Scars were assessed for width, elevation, discoloration, marks, and overall appearance.
• A scar evaluation scale (0-5) and a visual analogue scale (0-100mm) were used.

Main Results:

• High interobserver agreement was found for the scar evaluation scale (0.73-0.85).
• High interobserver agreement was found for the visual analogue scale (0.83-0.87).
• Strong correlations were observed between the two scales (0.75-0.92).

Conclusions:

• A new long-term scar evaluation scale demonstrates high reliability.
• The scale shows strong correlation with the visual analogue scale, indicating construct validity.
• This validated scale can be used for objective long-term scar assessment.