Fractional CO₂laser versus intense pulsed light in treating striae distensae

Abstract

Context:Striae distensae are linear atrophic dermal scars covered with flat atrophic epidermis. They may cause disfigurement, especially in females. Many factors may cause striae distensae such as steroids, obesity, and pregnancy. Although there is no standard treatment for striae; many topical applications, peeling, and light and laser systems have been tried.Aims:To evaluate and compare the efficacy of fractional CO2 laser with intense pulse light in treating striae distensae.Subjects and Methods:Forty patients with striae distensae were recruited. Twenty of them were treated by fractional CO2 laser and 20 were treated with intense pulse light. Length and width of the largest striae were measured pre- and post-treatment. Patient satisfaction was also evaluated and graded. Patients were photographed after each treatment session and photos were examined by a blinded physician who had no knowledge about the cases.Results:Both groups showed significant improvement after treatments (P < 0.05). Patients treated with fractional CO2 laser showed significant improvement after the fifth session compared with those treated with ten sessions of intense pulsed light (P < 0.05) in all parameters except in the length of striae (P > 0.05).Conclusions:The current study has provided supportive evidence to the effectiveness of both fractional CO2 laser and intense pulse light as treatments for striae distensae. Fractional CO2 laser was found to be more effective in the treatment of striae distensae compared with intense pulse light.

Dermoscopy and VISIA imager evaluations of non‐insulated microneedle radiofrequency versus fractional CO2 laser treatments of striae distensae

“…9 Recently, the fractional CO 2 laser has become the most widely used atrophic scar and SD treatment approach. 4,[9][10][11][12][13][14] Fractional photothermolysis can stimulate collagen remodelling, and its efficacy in this regard has been confirmed in several studies. 4 Radiofrequency (RF) devices work by emitting an RF current to the target tissue, which is then converted to heat and causes collagen denaturation and neocollagenesis.…”

Combination of a 2940 nm Er:YAG laser with recombinant bovine basic fibroblast growth factor (rb‐bFGF) and light‐emitting diode‐red light (LED‐RL) for the treatment of striae alba: A pilot study

“…There have been some studies that provided supportive evidence to the effectiveness of fractional 10 600‐nm CO 2 laser on the treatment of SD. El Taieb and Ibrahim reported 40 patients with SD, 20 of them were treated with CO 2 AFL with five sessions at intervals of 4 weeks, and 20 were treated with intense pulse light (IPL) with 10 sessions at intervals of 2 weeks. Both groups showed significant improvement, CO 2 AFL was more effective in the treatment of SD compared with IPL.…”

“…Our results showed at the 1‐month follow‐up, 12 patients (40%) have been evaluated to have improvement in the appearance of SD more than 50%, at the 6‐month follow‐up, 27 patients (90%) have been evaluated to have improvement more than 50%. In the study about using CO 2 AFL conducted by Yang and Lee, three patients (13.6%) have been evaluated to have improvement in the appearance of SD more than 50% at the 1‐month follow‐up after three sessions; while El Taieb and Ibrahim reported 17 patients (80%) have been evaluated to have improvement in the appearance of SD more than 50% at the 1‐month follow‐up after five sessions using CO 2 AFL. Compared with CO 2 AFL treatment, our follow‐up results at 1 month were better than three sessions of CO 2 AFL treatment but worse than five sessions of CO 2 AFL treatment.…”

Protocols for the Treatment of Stretch Marks of the Skin: A Systematic Review of Intervention

“…Although its molecular pathogenesis is not fully understood, evidence shows that stretch marks are caused by rapid stretching of the skin due to pregnancy, weight gain, rapid growth, also caused by diseases such as Cushing's syndrome and excessive use of steroids [1,4,5,6,7].…”