Split face evaluation of long-pulsed non-ablative 1,064nm Nd:YAG laser for treatment of direct browplasty scars

• Published in: Lasers in surgery and medicine 2016-10, Vol.48 (8), p.742-747
• Main Authors: Tenzel, Phillip A, Patel, Karan, Erickson, Benjamin P, Shriver, Erin M, Grunebaum, Lisa D, Alabiad, Chrisfouad R, Lee, Wendy W, Wester, Sara T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Discomfort; Edema; Erythema; Hair; Hair loss; Lasers; Neodymium lasers; Observers; Scars; Semiconductor lasers; Side effects; YAG lasers
• ISSN: 0196-8092; 1096-9101
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.22543

Purpose To investigate 1,064nm long-pulse Nd:YAG laser for postoperative treatment of direct browplasty scars. Methods Nine patients who underwent direct browplasty were enrolled in this prospective study. Subjects were randomized to unilateral laser treatment at 2-week intervals for six total treatments, with the contralateral scar used as a control. Prior to each treatment, subjects rated treated and control scars on overall cosmesis. Post-treatment, subjects rated each for erythema, swelling, discomfort, and perceived hair loss. Finally, examiners masked to treatment side were asked to judge side-by-side photographs of first and final visits for improvement and side effects. Results Subjects rated the overall appearance of the treated scar significantly higher at the time of treatment number 5 (mean score 5.13±2.03, P=0.008) and treatment number 6 (6.25±1.98, P=0.005) compared to treatment 1 (3.75±2.12); by contrast, they failed to rate the control scar more highly. On masked examination of photographs, the treated scar was selected as most improved 50.0±12.5% of the time. Both subjects and graders reported side effects as transient and mild to moderate (mean score 1-4), with no reports of hair loss from either subjects or observers. Conclusions The 1,064nm Nd:YAG laser provided significant improvement in scar cosmesis after direct browplasty, as rated by subject self-report, but not by masked observers, and appears to be a useful tool for increasing satisfaction among those dissatisfied with direct browplasty scars. Side effects--including erythema, edema, and discomfort--were transient and universally rated as mild to moderate. Lasers Surg. Med. 48:742-747, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.