With over 25 years of extensive experience in the field, I hold multiple qualifications including MBBS, MS, MCh, DNB, MBA, PhD, and DSc, among others. My specialization encompasses Laser Plastic Surgery at Boston Medical Centre, Endoscopic Plastic Surgery at Emory University, and Cosmetic Plastic Surgery at PACES in the USA, alongside expertise in Mesotherapy and Fillers from France. I have completed nine fellowships and received 47 awards, including the prestigious International BMJ Award. My contributions include 18 innovations, two patents, and leading 26 research projects with funding exceeding 1.5 crores. As an author of five textbooks and seven manuals, I also serve on the editorial boards of over 100 journals and have published more than 710 articles. Currently, I am a Senior Professor of Plastic Surgery, Associate Dean (Academic), and Head of IT & Telemedicine at JIPMER in Puducherry, India, while advising organizations such as UPSC and IBAM.
Hypertrophic scars are abnormal scars that are a source of great functional, psychological and financial burden to the patient. Currently available treatment modalities are either very cumber- some to use or have not provided very satisfactory results. Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy for the management of hypertrophic scars has been recently introduced. However, most of the studies available are from the Western population. In this trial, we aim to study the effect of IPL on the South Indian population with darker skin and compare it with an existing treatment modality (silicone gel sheet).
Materials and Methods
This trial was an interventional clinical trial conducted from September 2015 to March 2017 on 28 patients with 65 hypertrophic scars. Each scar was divided into 2 equal parts (4.6 x 1 cm2). One half of the scar was treated to 4 sessions of 29J/cm2 of IPL at 3 weekly intervals. A silicone gel sheet (SGS) was applied over the other half and changed at 3 weekly intervals. The Vancouver scar scale was used to grade both halves of the scar before treatment, at each visit and 3 weeks after treatment completion.
Results
Scars treated with IPL showed a significant reduction in the pliability (p=0.002) and hyperpig- mentation (p=0.000) as compared to scars treated with SGS. Though the percentage reduction in the height of the scar was more in the IPL group (15.4% as compared to 4.6%in the SGS group), the result was not statistically significant (p<0.065). As most scars in our study showed normal vascularity at the beginning, the percentage reduction in vascularity between both groups was the same (p<0.597). The reduction in the median VSS score was more in the IPL group compared to SGS group (p=0.00).
Conclusion
IPL therapy offers a safe and effective means of hypertrophic scar treatment, especially on large scars where other treatment modalities may not be feasible. Minimal side effects that occur can be prevented with proper pre, intra and post procedure cooling.