Efficacy and safety of ablative CO₂ fractional laser and narrowband intense pulsed light for the treatment of hypertrophic scars: a prospective, randomized controlled trial

Figures & data

Figure 1. The consort flow chart.

Table 1. Characteristics of patients and hypertrophic scars (n = 101).

Characteristics	CO2-IPL (Mean)	IPL (Mean)	Total (Mean)	p Value
Total analyzed number	52	49	101	/
Age	33	30	32 (16–52)	0.1347^a
Gender
Male	25	20	43 (42.6%)	0.463^b
Female	27	29	58 (57.4%)
Scar Duration (months)	6.6	6.2	6.4 (2–15)	0.4688^a
Scar Location
Face	17	14	31 (30.7%)	0.757^b
Neck	5	7	12 (11.9%)
Trunk	12	8	20 (19.8%)
Extremities	18	20	38 (37.6%)
Scar Source
Burn	32	26	58 (57.4%)	0.674^b
Surgery	16	19	35 (34.7%)
Trauma	4	4	8 (7.9%)

^aMann-Whitney test.

^bPearson’s chi-square test (2-sided).

Table 2. Comparison of POSAS scores before and after treatment.

	Baseline			Three months after three sessions
	CO2-IPL	IPL	p Value	CO2-DPL	DPL	p Value	p Value
OSAS score	26.02 ± 2.36	25.67 ± 2.92	.5448	19.29 ± 2.35	22.02 ± 2.54	<.0001	<.0001
Vascularization	6.75 ± 1.38	6.74 ± 1.47	.9246	4.92 ± 1.03	5.61 ± 1.22	.0052	.0014
Pigmentation	4.54 ± 1.08	4.43 ± 1.06	.6136	3.58 ± 1.02	3.88 ± 0.88	.1192	.0008
Thickness	5.52 ± 1.06	5.57 ± 1.19	.8764	4.15 ± 0.85	4.96 ± 0.96	<.0001	<.0001
Relief	3.60 ± 1.05	3.57 ± 1.16	.8455	2.56 ± 1.02	2.94 ± 0.99	.0459	.0023
Pliability	5.62 ± 1.42	5.37 ± 1.50	.4407	4.08 ± 1.17	4.63 ± 1.17	.0196	<.0001
PSAS score	26.02 ± 2.36	25.67 ± 2.92	.5448	19.29 ± 2.35	22.02 ± 2.54	<.0001	<.0001
Pain	2.79 ± 1.16	2.80 ± 1.15	.8982	1.71 ± 0.75	1.84 ± 0.90	.6069	.4205
Itching	5.40 ± 1.61	5.47 ± 1.58	.8372	3.58 ± 1.21	4.45 ± 1.34	.0012	<.0001
Color	5.25 ± 1.53	5.31 ± 1.26	.7728	3.481 ± 1.23	4.04 ± 1.12	.0197	.0066
Stiffness	5.54 ± 1.24	5.41 ± 1.35	.7113	3.62 ± 0.99	4.10 ± 1.09	.0132	<.0001
Thickness	6.17 ± 0.92	6.00 ± 1.20	.3184	3.40 ± 0.80	4.47 ± 0.87	<.0001	<.0001
Irregularity	3.19 ± 1.30	3.12 ± 1.36	.795	2.12 ± 0.90	2.82 ± 1.30	.0057	<.0001
Total POSAS score	52.04 ± 4.73	51.35 ± 5.84	.5448	38.58 ± 4.71	44.04 ± 5.07	<.0001	<.0001

Figure 2. A 21-year-old burn female with hypertrophic scars on lower limbs received three CO₂-IPL treatments showing marked improvement in color, thickness and texture.

Figure 3. A 26-year-old burn male with hypertrophic scars on face at (A) baseline and (B) 3 months after three CO₂-IPL treatments showing great improvement in vascularization, pliability and thickness.

Figure 4. A 28-year-old female with hypertrophic scars from surgery on face at (A) baseline and (B) 3 months after three CO₂-IPL treatments showing excellent improvement in thickness, color, stiffness and texture.

Figure 5. A 32-year-old burn female with hypertrophic scars from on lower limbs at (A) baseline and (B) 3 months after three IPL treatments showing good changes in vascularization and thickness.

Figure 6. A 29-year-old female with hypertrophic scars from skin graft surgery on lower limbs at (A) baseline and (B) 3 months after three IPL treatments showing good improvement in vascularization and stiffness.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.