Laser Treatment of Postprocedural Scars

Scars are common complications of the wound-healing process and have psychological, cosmetic, and physical implications for affected patients regardless of their origin. Despite a careful and atraumatic technique, surgical treatment and/or reconstruction can result in scarring. Every year, 100 million individuals in the United States report scarring caused by events such as trauma or surgical intervention; among them, 25 million undergo surgery immediately after the trauma and 15 million in the following months. The abnormal cascade of events that leads to cutaneous scarring has been well-described. The stages of wound healing include inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. An aberration of these events, specifically excess cellular proliferation within the wound, can result in disorganized collagen deposition as well as abnormal pigmentation, leading to an obvious scar.