Evaluation of safety and efficacy of fractional CO2 laser in treatment of post traumatic atrophic scars

Abstract

Aim: This research evaluated the safety and efficacy of fractional CO2 LASER (FCOL) in treatment of post traumatic atrophic scarring. Research design: This was a prospective, randomized research.Place and duration of the research: Outpatient Dermatology and Venereology Clinic and Plastic Surgery Departments at Tanta University Hospitals, from December 2019 to June 2021.Methodology: This research was carried out on 20 participants with post traumatic atrophic scarring treated with FCOL. Follow up 3 months after treatment and evaluation of the improvement was done by Vancouver scar scale, 3 blinded dermatologists’ assessment, and patient satisfaction score. Results: There was improvement in all participants with variable degrees, there were no scarring showed excellent improvement, 4 scarring showed good improvement (20%), 10 scarring showed fair improvement (50%) and 6 scarring showed poor improvement (30%). Adverse reactions were in general mild and well tolerated, in the form of transient redness, mild hyperpigmentation, mild pain, that all resolved within few days. No relation between the degree of improvement and age of the participants, site of the scarring, scar duration, but in sex of the participants, it was more in males than in females. Conclusion: FCOL may be an effective approach for treating atrophic scarring, from both an aesthetic and a functional perspective.