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Background and Objectives: There is currently intense multidisciplinary interest and a maturing body of literature regarding laser treatments for traumatic scars, but international treatment guidelines and reimbursement schemes have not yet caught up with current knowledge and practice in many centers. The authors intend to highlight the tremendous potential of laser techniques, offer recommendations for safe and efficacious treatment, and promote wider patient access guided by future highquality research.

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To compare the clinical response of keloidal and hypertrophic scars after treatment with intralesional corticosteroid alone or combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), 5-FU alone, and the 585-nm flashlamp-pumped pulsed-dye laser (PDL). Design: Prospective, paired-comparison, randomized controlled trial. Setting: A private ambulatory laser facility. Patients: Ten patients with previously untreated keloidal or hypertrophic median sternotomy scars at least 6 months after surgery that were considered problematic by the patients. Interventions: Five segments were randomly treated with 4 different regimens: (1) laser radiation with a 585-nm PDL (5 J/cm 2); (2) intralesional triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) (20 mg/mL); (3) intralesional 5-FU (50 mg/mL); and (4) intralesional TAC (1 mg/mL) mixed with 5-FU (45 mg/mL). One segment of each scar received no treatment and served as a control. Main Outcome Measures: Scar height, erythema, and pliability were evaluated before and every 8 weeks after treatment. Patients' subjective evaluations were tabulated. Histologic sections of segments were examined in 1 biopsy sample per segment at week 32. Results: There was a statistically significant clinical improvement in all treated segments. No significant difference in treatment outcome vs method of treatment was noted. However, intralesional formulas resulted in faster resolution than the PDL: scar induration responded better to intralesional formulas, scar texture responded better to the PDL, and scar erythema responded the same as the control with all treatments. Adverse sequelae, including hypopigmentation, telangiectasia, and skin atrophy, were observed in 50% (5/10) of the segments that received corticosteroid intralesionally alone. No longterm adverse sequelae were demonstrated in the segments treated with other modalities. Conclusions: Clinical improvement of keloidal and hypertrophic scars after treatment with intralesional corticosteroid alone or combined with 5-FU, 5-FU alone, and PDL seemed comparable, with the exceptions of the incidence of adverse reactions, which were most common with intralesional corticosteroid. Intralesional 5-FU is comparable to the other therapies.

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Background: Variations in skin roughness and scaliness between age groups, anatomic sites and race have been assumed but minimally quantified. Objective: We quantitatively investigated skin roughness, scaliness and stratum corneum hydration as a function of age, anatomic site and race (white and black). Methods: Skin roughness, scaliness and stratum corneum hydration were determined in vivo by noninvasive bioengineering and image analysis techniques in 22 female subjects grouped according to age (young and aged) and race (white and black). Results: Skin roughness, scaliness and stratum corneum hydration varied significantly in different anatomic areas and age groups. There was no racial variation in skin hydration between any anatomic site, nor significant differences in roughness and scaliness between races, except for the preauricular area. Skin roughness was significantly increased in the aged, compared to the young at the preauricle, volar forearm, lower back, thigh and lower leg. Older women demonstrated significantly more scaling at the preauricle than younger women. Stratum corneum hydration correlated with scaliness. No significant correlation between stratum corneum hydration and skin roughness was observed. Conclusion: Age and anatomic site but not race demonstrated a significant influence on skin roughness and scaliness. The desquamation index appears a good indicator of the status of stratum corneum hydration.

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It has been shown that normal mode ruby laser pulses (694 nm) are effective in selectively destroying brown or black pigmented hair follicles in adult Caucasians. This study investigated how the various stages of the hair follicle growth cycle influence follicle destruction by ruby laser treatment, using a model of predictable synchronous hair growth cycles in the infantile and adolescent mice. A range of ruby laser pulse fluences was delivered during different stages of the hair growth cycle, followed by histologic and gross observations of the injury and regrowth of hair. Actively growing and pigmented anagen stage hair follicles were sensitive to hair removal by normal mode ruby laser exposure, whereas catagen and telogen stage hair follicles were resistant to laser irradiation. Selective thermal injury to follicles was observed histologically, and hair regrowth was fluence dependent. In animals exposed during anagen, intermediate fluences induced nonscarring alopecia, whereas high fluences induced scarring alopecia. The findings of this study suggest treatment strategies for optimal laser hair removal.