Clinical Benefit of Early Laser Treatment of Scars in Children: A Single-Center Retrospective Study / 대한피부과학회지

ABSTRACT

Background@#Scars in children are highly concerning to most parents who usually seek prompt treatment for these lesions. However, compared with adults, children show a greater tendency to develop hypertrophic scars and a higher likelihood of scar widening with increasing age. @*Objective@#We investigated the role of laser treatment for scars in pediatric patients in view of the fact that this approach is challenging in this age group. @*Methods@#This retrospective study included patients aged ＜17 years who visited the Samsung Medical Center between 2013 and 2018 for scar treatment. Of the 28 children who visited the center during this time, 14 presented within 4 to 5 weeks from scar onset and received laser therapy and 14 presented after 4 to 5 weeks and received topical treatment. The Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale (SBSES) was used to assess scar formation. @*Results@#The mean initial SBSES scores were lower in the laser than in the topical group (1.93±0.92 vs. 2.71±0.83, p=0.0363). No intergroup difference was observed in SBSES scores upon treatment completion (4.50±0.94 vs. 4.21±1.19, p=0.4673). Multivariable analysis after adjustment for age, sex, and initial SBSES scores showed that the type (laser vs. topical) of treatment was not significantly associated with an SBSES score=5 or duration of treatment. @*Conclusion@#Laser intervention may be useful for scar therapy in children who present early and can receive prompt treatment before scar maturation; however, further studies are warranted to validate our results.