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A randomized controlled pilot study on ablative fractional CO2 laser for consecutive patients presenting with various
Anne Margreet van Drooge1, Charlotte Vrijman, Wietze van der Veen
1*Department of Dermatology, Netherlands Institute for Pigment Disorders (SNIP), Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; †Medisch Centrum Haaglanden, Den Haag, the Netherlands.
Background:
Although ablative fractional laser is the gold standard for acne scars, evidence is still lacking for other types of scars.
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the ablative fractional 10,600-nm CO2 laser in the treatment of various scar types.
Materials And Methods:
The authors performed an intraindividual single-blinded randomized controlled split-lesion trial. Adult patients received 3 laser treatments at 8-week intervals for scars existing at least 1 year. Primary end points were the Physician Global Assessment (PhGA) and the assessment of adverse effects.
Results:
Twenty-five consecutive patients with atrophic (52%) or hypertrophic (48%) scars located mainly on the body (84%) were included in the study. At 6-month follow-up of 21 patients, the PhGA showed no statistically significant difference between the treated and untreated side of the scar (p = .70). Persistent erythema, postinflammatory pigmentary changes, and scarring after ulceration (n = 3) were observed as side effects.
Conclusion:
In this trial involving various types of scars, the efficacy of ablative fractional CO2 laser could not be confirmed. The authors presume that different types of scars have a different response to treatment. Future studies should aim to identify the type of scars that may benefit from ablative fractional laser therapy.
