Laser pretreatment for the attenuation of planned surgical scars: A randomized self-controlled hemi-scar pilot study

Background: Nonsurgical scar attenuation options include compression garments, silicone gel, intralesional drug therapy, radiation therapy, laser, and light therapies. Laser application preceding surgical intervention has been shown to modify the wound-healing process and affect subsequent scar formation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, efficacy, and final cosmesis of a single presurgical laser treatment on surgical scar formation.

Methods: This was a randomized, controlled, intraindividual split-scar pilot study with blinded assessments of treated versus untreated planned incision sites. One half of each planned scar was treated by means of an Erbium glass, 1540 nm laser, 24 h before surgery, and the other half was not treated and served as the control. Clinical evaluations and the measurements of patient and physician POSAS scales were done at 1 and 12 months following surgery.

Results: Eleven patients completed the study and were included in the analyses. Laser pretreatment showed a significant beneficial effect compared with no treatment. Both the patient and physician mean Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale scores were significantly lower for the laser-treated half of the scars compared with the control side (1.55 to 3.00, p = 0.02 and 2.28 to 4.42, p = 0.03). There was a highly significant interobserver correlation in the evaluation of the overall posttreatment changes (r = 0.904, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: A single presurgical laser treatment of a planned incision site is a simple, safe, and painless strategy to significantly improve the final scar appearance.