The 308-nm excimer laser in the darkening of the white lines of striae alba.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the true efficacy of the 308-nm excimer laser for darkening striae alba using a modified approach.

METHODS

Ten subjects were treated using the excimer laser on the white lines of striae, while the normal skin near to and between the lines was covered with zinc oxide cream. Assessment of efficacy was performed by colorimetric scores based on mexameter measurement and also digital photographs showing before-after laser therapy, which were compared by two independent dermatologists.

RESULTS

The mexameter-based data analysis showed that the excimer laser was weakly effective in the repigmentation of the lines of striae. The analysis using before-after photographs showed that 80% of patients had a poor or moderate result.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study showed the weakly positive effect of the 308-nm excimer laser in the repigmentation of striae alba; the splaying of pigment was a major side effect.