Laser Therapy for Pediatric Burn Scars

A Controlled Trial Investigating the Use of Laser Therapy to Improve Pediatric Burn Scars.

A new era of outcomes for pediatric burn patients has begun as burn care continues to improve. Unfortunately, complete restoration of burn-injured skin may be limited by the development of hypertrophic scarring. Treatment with laser therapy is one of the newest forms of scar therapy available. Although laser therapy has only been adopted by burn clinicians within the last several years, early evidence suggests that it may offer significant benefits. Thus the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using laser therapy to treat hypertrophic burn scars in pediatric patients by using a comprehensive set of subjective and objective scar assessment tools.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 1-18 years at presentation
2. Patients with a hypertrophic burn scar that has been clinically diagnosed by a burn care specialist
3. Hypertrophic burn scar resulting from any etiology
4. Hypertrophic burn scar is ≥ 2 months post healing
5. Ability to complete English- language questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients with concomitant skin disease (i.e. chronic skin conditions, herpes infection)
2. Patients with a history of keloid scarring
3. Patients who cannot tolerate the intravenous (IV) sedation used to perform laser therapy procedures
4. Patients who have had previous laser therapy procedures