Managing Pathologic Scars by Injecting Auto-Cross-linked Hyaluronic Acid: A Preliminary Prospective Clinical Study

Pathological scars are unattractive and may significantly impair the patient's quality of life. Current treatments provide inconsistent results, and none may be regarded as definitive. Recently, an auto-cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA) formulation, IAL-SYSTEM ACP, featuring a long residence time and an enhanced safety profile, has been successfully used to prevent surgical adhesions, treat tendon lesions and rejuvenate the face and the décolletage. This study aims to preliminarily investigate whether IAL-SYSTEM ACP may also be effective in treating pathological scars resulting from burns, trauma or iatrogenic causes.

Patients presenting one pathological scar were prospectively recruited and treated with two IAL-SYSTEM ACP injections carried out two weeks apart. Scar improvement was measured comparing the patient and observer scar assessment scale (POSAS) scores collected before treatment (T0) and 90 days after the second injection (T90) using nonparametric tests. The effect of age and scar type over score variation was investigated through quantile regression analysis.

Forty-one patients, 10 women and 31 men (median age, 34 years) were recruited. No patient dropped out, and no significant adverse event was observed. At T90, the median observer total score decreased by 11 units (- 77.5%) and the median patient total score decreased by 15 units (- 73.7%). The difference was significant (p < 0.001) in both cases. Traumatic injuries and young patient's age were the most significant predictors of a positive treatment outcome.

Treatment of pathological scars by two IAL-SYSTEM ACP injections, carried out two weeks apart, may provide significant clinical benefits. These findings should be the subject of further investigations.

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