Background
Fractional CO2 laser has shown a great efficacy for the treatment of hypertrophic scars; however, there are different levels of therapeutic outcomes depending on many factors. The aim of this study was to detect any relation between serum level of fibroblast growth factor-1 and the response of the hypertrophic scars to the treatment with fractional CO2 resurfacing.
Methods
Twenty patients with hypertrophic scars were included in the study. A serum sample was taken from each patient to assess the serum level of fibroblast growth factor 1. Each patient was subjected to fractional carbon dioxide laser with a frequency of a session every month. Evaluation of the scars was done before starting treatment and after each 3 consecutive sessions by Vancouver score scale (VSS).
Results
Analysis of the results showed that there is a statistically significant improvement of the hypertrophic scars by using fractional CO2 laser resurfacing, but the percent of improvement showed insignificant correlation with the age, body mass index (BMI) of patients and disease duration. Also, the results revealed that Serum fibroblast growth factor 1 had insignificant correlation with the percent of improvement of the scars treated.
Conclusion
Serum fibroblast growth factor-1 can't be used as a marker to predict the probable response of the hypertrophic scars to the treatment with fractional CO2 laser.