• Medical Lasers
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.90-95
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• 2021

Background and Objectives Surgery for harvesting costal cartilage is often required for revision septorhinoplasty due to a lack of septal cartilage in patients with a severely contracted nose, and postoperative scarring on the anterolateral rib cage commonly requires additional treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of combined polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN) and microlens array (MLA)-type nanosecond-domain neodymium (Nd):yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser treatment for postoperative scars after costal cartilage harvest surgery. Materials and Methods Nine Korean patients with scars after costal cartilage harvest surgery treated with PDRN injections and MLA-type Nd:YAG laser treatments were retrospectively reviewed. Results Most of the scar lesions exhibited clinical improvement at 2 weeks after PDRN and MLA-type nanosecond-domain laser treatments, and the lesions further improved after adding more treatment sessions. The median Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) score decreased from 6 (interquartile range [IQR]: 6-7) before combined intralesional PDRN injection and MLA-type, nanosecond-domain Nd:YAG laser treatments to 3 (IQR: 2-4) thereafter. Patient satisfaction after the combination treatments was rated as satisfactory. None of our patients reported major adverse events. Conclusion This case series study demonstrated that combined PDRN and MLA-type, nanosecond-domain Nd:YAG laser treatments are effective and safe for treating scars from costal cartilage harvest surgery.