Publications of Faculty of Medicine:Microneedling systemalone versusmicroneedling systemwith trichloroacetic acid in themanagement of abdominal striae rubra: a clinical and histopathologicai study: Abstract

Striae distensae or stretch marks, although hot a health risk, are of significant cosmetic concern as it affects the patient's psychological condition. Although many treatment modalities have been attempted with variable results, there is no standard treatment modality for it. Objective To compare the efficacy of a microneedling system (dermaroller) when used alone or combined with 15-30% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in the management of striae rubra. Patients and methods This clinical trial included 30 female patientswith abdominal striae rubra treated with a dermaroller alone on the left side of the abdomen (GO and with a dermaroller+15-30% TGA on the right side of the abdomen (Gil). Patients were treated for six sessions at 3-week intervals.We assessed the clinical features (length, width, color, and texture) of striae in each group at every session and 3weeks after the end of the sessions (follow-up). The response to treatmentwas assessed objectively by the treating physicians and skin biopsies stained with hematoxylin and eosin and pbrosirius red stains. Subjective assessment of the clinical photographs and patient satisfaction scores was carried out by two uninvolved blind dermatologists at every session. Results A comparison between Gl and Gil at the follow-up session revealed statistically significant differences in length (P=0.002), width (P<0.001), color, and texture (P=0.049 and 0.041, respectively). More improvement in the striaewas noted in Gil, as 19 (63.3%) patients showed good to excellent improvement compared with 10 (33.3%) patients in GI. Skin biopsies inGil showed increased epidermal thickness after treatment (P<0.005).Collagen contentwas increased after treatment in both groups. Side effects including transient erythema, edema, burning pain, and hyperpigmentation were observed more in Gil with increasing concentration of TCA peeling.