Multimodal Quantitative Analysis of Early Pulsed‐Dye Laser Treatment of Scars at a Pediatric Burn Hospital

Background The pulsed‐dye laser (PDL) is a potential adjunctive therapy for treatment of hyperemic and hypertrophic scars. Objective To compare the effects of early PDL treatment plus compression therapy (CT) with those of CT alone in patients undergoing burn scar reconstruction with split‐thickness...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Dermatologic surgery 2012-09, Vol.38 (9), p.1490-1496
Main Authors: Bailey, John Kevin, Burkes, Shoná A., Visscher, Marty O., Whitestone, Jennifer, Kagan, Richard J., Yakuboff, Kevin P., Warner, Petra, Randall Wickett, R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Burns
Burns - complications
Child
Cicatrix - pathology
Cicatrix - physiopathology
Cicatrix - therapy
Combined Modality Therapy
Compression Bandages
Dermatology
Elasticity
Erythema - therapy
Female
Humans
Lasers, Dye - therapeutic use
Male
Medical sciences
Pliability
Severity of Illness Index
Single-Blind Method
Skin - pathology
Skin - physiopathology
Skin plastic surgery
Skin Transplantation
Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
Young Adult
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Summary:Background The pulsed‐dye laser (PDL) is a potential adjunctive therapy for treatment of hyperemic and hypertrophic scars. Objective To compare the effects of early PDL treatment plus compression therapy (CT) with those of CT alone in patients undergoing burn scar reconstruction with split‐thickness grafts on an extremity. Methods Laser treatments were applied to one half of the graft seam. Standard CT was applied to both halves. Laser treatment was repeated at 6‐week intervals until one half reached sufficient clinical improvements. Each half was evaluated just before treatments using quantitative measures of color, scar height, biomechanical properties and clinical features using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). Results Less quantitative scar erythema and height and greater tissue elasticity were observed after two or three treatments for PDL plus compression than with compression alone. VSS scores showed greater improvement for vascularity, pliability, pigmentation, and height for PDL plus compression than for compression alone. Conclusion PDL treatment in combination with CT appears to reduce scar hyperemia and height and normalize the biomechanical properties of burn‐related scars.
ISSN:1076-0512
1524-4725
DOI:10.1111/j.1524-4725.2012.02451.x