Twenty-six of the world’s leading experts in dermatology and plastic and reconstructive surgery convened to create the “Laser Treatment of Traumatic Scars and Contractures: 2020 International Consensus Recommendations,” published in the February 2020 issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine. Their goal was to highlight the potential of laser techniques, offer recommendations for safe and efficacious treatment and promote wider patient access guided by high‐quality research. The paper includes detailed discussion regarding a variety of laser platforms commonly used for traumatic scar management, special considerations—such as coding and laser treatments in skin of color—and 25 summary consensus recommendations.
“The discovery of the transformative capabilities of fractional lasers, particularly ablative fractional lasers, has invigorated the entire field of inquiry and offered new hope to millions of patients worldwide who suffer from disfiguring and disabling scars,” said Peter Shumaker, MD, editor of the February 2020 special issue on scar management. “However, patients without access to these treatments may not be receiving the best available care after injury. One of the primary motivations for publishing this multidisciplinary international expert consensus is to continue to help establish ablative fractional lasers and other laser procedures as a worldwide standard of care and bring practice more in line with current knowledge.”
You can view the consensus recommendations here
Image: Peter Schumaker, MD
