Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Dermatology and Venerology

Background: Scars are the end point of tissue repair after a skin injury whether through surgery, trauma or burns. Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process that includes four classic stages: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and redesign. There are many strategies for treating scars, including: silicone sheets, gels, ILS, various laser techniques and other modalities. Fractional CO2 laser has been used for years in facial rejuvenation and other several indications including management of scars where it proved its efficacy in collagen remodeling. Aim of work: The present work was designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of early treatment of post traumatic scars using fractional CO2 laser. Three different timings of intervention were compared to find out the best outcome among them. Patients and methods: Forty five Egyptian patients with early post traumatic wounds were randomly divided into 3 groups, fifteen patients each. Treatment with Fractional CO2 laser was started on the day of suture removal in group (A), 2 weeks after suture removal in the group (B) and 4 weeks after suture removal in group (C). All groups received three sessions of fractional CO2 laser at one month interval. The parameters used in this study were 25 joule, stack 2, dwell time 800os and spacing 1000 æm (5% density). The degree of improvement was assessed using the Vancouver scar scale (VSS), patient satisfaction level (PSL) and OCT/UBM at baseline and one month after the last treatment session

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