Burn scars treated by pinhole method using a carbon dioxide laser.
Many patients with burn injuries have various complications and emotional problems due to scars. Although various modalities to improve burn scars have been attempted, such as excision of scars, skin grafts, laser abrasion and silicone product usage, the cosmetic outcomes have not been satisfactory for a large portion of patients. Herein, we describe two cases which showed satisfactory cosmetic results after treatment of burns scars with the pinhole method using a carbon dioxide (CO(2)) laser that allowed us to make deep, closely set holes reaching down to the upper dermis. A 20-year-old female patient with a scar on her neck and a 25-year-old female patient with a scar on her right forearm after burn injuries are presented. As early as only a few weeks after the treatment, the scars showed relaxation of contracture, reduction of wrinkles and improvement of texture and color compared to before the treatment. Treatment of burn scars with the pinhole method can be easily performed and results in dramatic improvement in scar quality with only a few side-effects.
Whang
Sung Won
SW
Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Lee
Kyu-Yeop
KY
Cho
Sung Bin
SB
Lee
Sang Joo
SJ
Kang
Jin Moon
JM
Kim
Young Koo
YK
Nam
In Hwan
IH
Chung
Kee Yang
KY
D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D003286:Contracture / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005543:Forearm Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D012867:Skin / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology
D002245:Carbon Dioxide