A randomized, controlled, split-scar trial published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (February 2017) revealed that ablative fractional laser treatments can improve the appearance and pliability of mature caesarean section (c-section) scars.
Katrine E. Karmisholt, MD, et al, treated 11 patients with mature c-section scars. Each patient underwent three ablative fractional treatment sessions. Efficacy was measured at one, three and six months following treatment by blinded on-site clinical evaluations using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS), blinded photo-evaluations, reflectance measurements, tissue histology and patient satisfaction.
At one month, the treated side of the scars had significantly more pliability and smoother surfaces compared to the control side. Transient erythema and hyperpigmentation, confirmed by reflectance measurements, peaked between one and three months following treatment. At six months, blinded photo-evaluation showed significant improvement in the treated sides of the scars compared to control, and the majority of patients (64%) favored subsequent ablative fractional treatment of their untreated control scar tissue.
