Treatment of keloid scars with pulsed dye versus erbium yag laser

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to evaluate the success of 585-nm flash lamp-pumped pulsed dye laser versus erbium YAG laser in treatment of keloid. Two groups of patients with keloid [10 patients each] received 2-3 laser treatments at 6-8 weeks intervals using pulsed dye laser to one group and erbium YAG laser to the other group. The success of therapy was judged by a clinical improvement including softening of the scar, reduction of erythema, scar height, pruritus or pain and improvement of surface tecture abnormalities. The cases were reviewed after six months. There was a significant improvement in 7/10 patients treated with pulsed dye laser compared with the significant improvement observed in 3/10 patients treated with erbium YAG laser. Moreover, with pulsed dye laser the improvement persisted for at least six months. It was concluded that the vascular specific 585 nm pulsed dye laser gives better results than the erbium YAG laser in the treatment of keloid