BACKGROUND:
Ablative fractional laser-assisted therapy is increasingly used to facilitate drug delivery and intensify clinical efficacy of topically applied drugs.
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of combined ablative fractional CO2 laser and topically applied 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or verapamil hydrochloride in the treatment of hypertrophic scars (HTSs) and keloids and to examine their possible effects on TGF-β1 expression.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Thirty patients with HTSs and keloids were randomly treated with combined CO2 laser followed by topical verapamil or 5-FU application or CO2 laser monotherapy. All patients received 4 treatments at 1-month intervals. Subjective and objective assessment was obtained using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). Histological changes and immunohistochemical staining for TGF-β1 were performed.
RESULTS:
Compared with baseline, there was a significant reduction in the VSS 1 month after the last treatment session in all groups (p < .05). Laser-assisted 5-FU delivery tended to show a higher extent of improvement in scar characteristics than laser-assisted verapamil hydrochloride delivery, without significance. No significant side effects were reported in all patient groups. TGF-β1 expression was significantly decreased after laser sessions.
CONCLUSION:
Combined fractional CO2 laser and topical 5-FU or verapamil hydrochloride offer a safe therapy for HTSs and keloids.
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