Picosecond Nd:YAG versus Fractional CO₂ Lasers in Management of Postburn Scars

The picosecond laser was primarily designed to enhance tattoo removal. Because it has a new innovative mechanism for energy delivery, it has been modified to be used in other conditions such as skin resurfacing, which was usually treated with fractional CO₂ laser. Comparing both technologies in managing postburn scars has not been widely addressed.

The current prospective comparative randomized intrapatient study was done on 15 patients who presented with unsightly postburn scarring. As a split study, one-half of the affected areas were treated using the picosecond Nd: YAG laser. The other areas were treated with a fractional CO₂ laser. After three treatment sessions, the results were analyzed both objectively and subjectively.

The assessment by the image analysis system (Antera camera) showed improvement in all the parameters in both groups. The melanin relative variation decreased from 11.65 ± 2.86, 15.85 ± 5.63 to 10.60 ± 1.96, 12.56 ± 3.98, respectively in picosecond laser sites and fractional CO₂ sites. The percentage change in overall opinion decreased in in favor of the fractional CO₂ laser sites, which is a statistically significant improvement. Instead, color scores revealed a greater reduction in the picosecond sites in comparison with the fractional CO₂ sites, as it decreased from 7.67 ± 1.76, 7.73 ± 1.83 to 2.87 ± 1.06, 6 ± 1.2, respectively.

When compared with fractional CO₂ lasers, picosecond Nd:YAG shows comparable improvements in scars' erythema, texture, and height, with some superiority in the management of hyperpigmented scars.