Dr. Jill Waibel discusses early laser intervention and post treatment techniques for scar prevention.
Jill Waibel, MD, is Director and Owner of Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, Miami, Fla.
“Lasers are the gold standard and can fix and improve almost any type of scar, whether it’s acne scars, whether it’s surgical scars, whether it’s burn and trauma scars and… these techniques have been developed by dermatologists,” says Jill Waibel, MD, board-certified dermatologist, Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute, Miami, Fla.
Beyond the use of lasers for scar improvement, they can also be used to prevent scars, says Dr. Waibel, who presented, “Scars: What Have We Learned and Where are We Going?,” at AAD/VMX 2021.
In 2019, Dr. Waibel and colleagues published data from a randomized, controlled study that examined the early treatment (<3 months of injury on scar formation) of burn and trauma wounds compared with the standard 1 year post-injury treatment time course.1
“We looked at burn and trauma patients, so anything from a car accident to a cooking injury to our wounded warriors. …we got those patients as they exited the burn unit, so within three months of fairly significant and profound injuries. We treated one area where they were burned with lasers—carbon dioxide fractional ablative only—and we left an area that was untreated. The data came back with a statistically significant improvement and prevention of the scar. It actually prevented a scar from forming relative to the other one.”
Specifically, they performed three fractional ablative CO2 laser treatments to the treatment areas every 8 weeks. Researchers found a significant 63% average scar improvement compared to control, demonstrating that early intervention is more effective for treating severe burn and trauma injuries.
The same holds true for early treatment of acne scars, Dr. Waibel explains in her video interview with The Dermatology Digest. She adds energy-based treatments during isotretinoin treatment course to minimize acne scarring.
“I truly believe in 2021, no one should have an acne scar,” she says.
Compression is another important scar treatment technique she details in her video interview.
“I start compression within 48 hours after treating a patient with a laser,” says Dr. Waibel. “I’ve had patients from Ecuador and El Salvador here in Miami. They had no burn care, and they came in and only [had laser and] compression, and it works.”
Reference
1. Waibel JS, Gianatasio C, Rudnick A. Randomized, Controlled Early Intervention of Dynamic Mode Fractional Ablative CO2 Laser on Acute Burn Injuries for Prevention of Pathological Scarring. Lasers Surg Med. 2020 Feb;52(2):117-124. doi: 10.1002/lsm.23170. Epub 2019 Oct 20. PMID: 31631361.