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Fractional carbon dioxide laser for the treatment of facial atrophic acne scars: prospective clinical trial with short and long-term evaluation

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fractional carbon dioxide laser for the treatment of acne scars. Thirty-one participants, 15 female and 16 male, whose mean age was 34.84 ± 10.94 years, were included in this prospective study. The study took place between 2012 and 2016. Participants were evaluated with the “ECCA Grading Scale” before the first session, 3 months (short-term evaluation) and 3 years after the last session (long-term evaluation). Participants received two or three treatment sessions at 4-week intervals, with a 10,600 nm fractional carbon dioxide laser with pulse energies ranging between 100 and 160 mJ, 120 spot type, 75–100 spot/cm2 density, and 30 W power. Self-assessments by the participants were done 3 months and 3 years after the last session. The mean ECCA score was 107.90 ± 39.38 before the first session, and 82.17 ± 36.23 at the time of short-term evaluation (p = 0.000). The grade of improvement at the short-term evaluation was as follows: no improvement, mild, moderate, and significant improvement for 7 (22.6%), 11 (35.5%), 9 (29%), and 4 (12.9%) of the participants, respectively. Regarding self-assessments, 80.6 and 61.3% of the participants rated themselves as having at least mild improvement at the short-term and the long-term follow-up periods, respectively. The results of this study suggest that fractional carbon dioxide laser is an efficient treatment option for acne scars. Furthermore, self-assessment results show that more than half of the participants still experience at least mild improvement at the end of 3 years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, 06100, Ankara, Turkey

    Gonca Elcin

  2. Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Basak Yalici-Armagan

Authors
  1. Gonca Elcin
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  2. Basak Yalici-Armagan
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Correspondence to Gonca Elcin.

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Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Hacettepe University Ethics Committee of Clinical Studies, with the code of KA-12-0043. This study was also approved by the Turkish Ministry of Health Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency with the code of 0089075. All procedures performed in the study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

A written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Additional informed consent was obtained from all individual participants for whom identifying information is included in this article.

Conflict of interest

The laser device used in this study was delivered to Hacettepe University according to the “Contract of Donation for Scientific Studies” by Cosmoplus Company. The authors have no conflict of interest.

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Elcin, G., Yalici-Armagan, B. Fractional carbon dioxide laser for the treatment of facial atrophic acne scars: prospective clinical trial with short and long-term evaluation. Lasers Med Sci 32, 2047–2054 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-017-2322-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10103-017-2322-7

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