Combination of short pulse and smooth modality of Er: YAG laser versus short pulse alone in treatment of striae distensae: a split-lesion study.

BACKGROUND

Despite extensive research, there is still no consensus on the optimal treatment for Striae distensae (SD).

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of ablative (short pulse (SP) mode) versus combined ablative and non-ablative (short pulse + smooth (SP + SM) mode) modality of Er: YAG laser for the treatment of SD.

METHODS

This prospective study was conducted on 29 female participants with SD referred to Razi Hospital in 2021. The body areas were divided into left and right side areas. The right side of body areas with SD was treated with SP + SM mode. The left side of body areas with SD was only treated with SP mode. Three months after treatment, clinical improvement was assessed based on dermatologist assessment and patients' opinion.

RESULTS

The participants were middle-aged women with SD on the chest, abdomen, thighs, knees, or arms. SD in both study groups (SP + SM mode versus SP mode alone) showed improvement after treatment. Nonetheless, there was no statistically significant difference between the two study groups regarding the clinical improvement based on dermatologist assessment (p = 0.279) and improvement of striae based on patient opinion (p = 0.208).

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we demonstrated that both ablative (SP mode) and combined ablative and non-ablative (SP + SM mode) strategies of Er: YAG laser are efficient for the treatment of SD. However, we failed to show any superiority for combined ablative and non-ablative (SP + SM mode) compared to ablative (SP mode) modality.