|
KMID : 1037020190080010007
|
|
Medical Lasers; Engineering, Basic Research, and Clinical Application
2019 Volume.8 No. 1 p.7 ~ p.12
|
|
|
Laser Resurfacing after Facial Free Flap Reconstruction
|
|
Kim Beom-Jun
Lee Yun-Whan
You Hi-Jin
Hwang Na-Hyun
Kim Deok-Woo
|
|
|
Abstract
|
|
|
Background and Objectives: Skin and soft tissue defects can be treated according to a range of strategies, such as local flap, skin graft, biological dressing, or free flap. On the other hand, free tissue transfer usually leaves a distinct scar with an inconsistency of color or hypertrophy. This problem is highlighted if the defect is located on the face, which could have devastating effects on a patient’s psychosocial health.
Materials and Methods: The authors used an erbium : yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Er:YAG) laser to resurface the free flap skin and match the color with the surrounding facial skin. This study evaluated the effectiveness of laser skin resurfacing on the harmonious color matching of transferred flap. Patients who had undergone laser resurfacing on facial flap skin between January 2014 and December 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. An ablative 2,940-nm fractional Er:YAG laser treatment was delivered to the entire flap skin at 21 J/cm2with the treatment end-point of pinpoint bleeding. Several months later, the clinical photographs were analyzed. The L*a*b* color co-ordinates of both the flap and surrounding normal skin were measured using Adobe Photoshop. The L*a*b*color difference (ΔE) for the scar and normal surrounding skin were calculated using the following equation: ΔE= √(ΔL)2 + (Δa)2+ (Δb)2
Results: All five patients were satisfied with the more natural appearance of the flaps. The ΔE values decreased significantly from the pre-treatment mean value of 19.64 to the post-treatment mean value of 11.39 (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p= 0.043).
Conclusion: Ablative laser resurfacing can improve the aesthetic outcome of free tissue transfer on the face.
|
|
|
KEYWORD
|
|
|
Lasers, Laser therapy, Ablation techniques, Free tissue flaps
|
|
|
FullTexts / Linksout information
|
|
|
|
|
Listed journal information
|
|
|
|