AUTHOR=Luo Yanfei , Lin Yan , Wang Meiling , Gao Xiaoyuan , Liu Xiaodong , Liu Huaxu 

TITLE=Treatment of striae albae with 1,550 nm Er: Glass vs. CO2 fractional laser: A self-controlled study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.1060815

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.1060815

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of fractional CO<sub>2</sub> laser and 1,550 nm Er: glass laser in the treatment for the patients with striae albae.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The female adults with striae albae in the abdomen for at least 12 months were recruited. After informed consent obtained, the patient received three treatments at 2-month intervals. The lesions on the left abdomen were treated with 10,600 nm CO<sub>2</sub> fractional laser and right side treated with 1,550 nm Er: glass fractional laser. The pictures were taken before each visit and 3 months after the final treatment. The criteria for the evaluations using a quartile grading scale were excellent (76–100%), good (51–75%), fair (26–50%), poor (1-25%), and no improvement (0%). The safety and efficacy of the two lasers were independently evaluated using before and after photographs by two dermatologists. In addition, the self-reports to investigate the pain and satisfaction from patients were also recorded.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Totally, 27 cases were recruited, and 25 patients completed the treatments and follow-up. The excellent and good results (improvement of 51–100%) were achieved on the right abdomen in 84% of the patients, while 48% on the left site (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05). Hyper-pigmentation was seen in 20% of the patients assessed on the left abdomen and only in 8% on the right abdomen. During the treatments, average score of the pain on the right abdomen was 5.41 ± 2.13, which was higher than that on the left (4.19 ± 2.12) (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). No permanent hyper-pigmentation was found on the both sides. Considering the whole treatments, the patients favored the modality used on the right side (80 vs. 68%, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.05).</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Compared with CO<sub>2</sub> fractional laser, 1,550 nm Er: glass fractional laser therapy provides the significantly better clinical outcomes and fewer side effects in the treatment of striae albae.</p></sec><sec><title>Limitations</title><p>The sample size and follow-up time were limited.</p></sec>