Comparative study of the use of ablative CO₂ fractional laser and ablative Er:YAG fractional laser on striae distensae in Asain women

Abstract

Background and Objectives Treatment outcomes for striae distensae (SD) vary according to the modalities employed. Although the non-ablative fractional laser (FL) is reported to be effective in the treatment of SD, there has been no comparative study of the efficacies of ablative CO₂ and ablative Er:YAG fractional lasers. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and patient satisfaction of these two laser treatments for SD associated with pregnancy.

Materials and Methods Thirteen Korean women presenting with pregnancy-associated SD were treated with ablative CO₂ FL on one side and ablative Er:YAG FL on the other. All patients underwent at least two laser treatments at 4-week intervals. Two independent clinicians, blinded to the study details, evaluated clinical efficacy, and subjective satisfaction was assessed on a visual assessment scale (VAS). Side effects of treatment were determined 4 weeks after the last session of treatment.

Results Mean evaluation scores recorded by physicians were low: 1.38 for CO₂ FL and 1.54 for Er:YAG FL (p=0.62). Mean VAS values were 2.08 and 2.15, respectively (p=0.86). There was no statistically significant difference between the clinical scores of two laser devices. Nine patients (69.2%) reported side effects including hyperpigmentation (7 patients) and pain (4 patients). Side effects were more often with ablative CO₂ FL than Er:YAG FL.

Conclusion Our study revealed that clinical efficacies of both ablative FL on the treatment of SD were lower than that of previous reports. There was no significant difference between two lasers in clinical efficacy. And Er:YAG seemed to be more safe than CO₂ FL. Further studies are needed to optimize treatment protocol according to the patients’ skin type of laser parameters.