[Thermal lasers and skin cicatrization].

Any cutaneous damage triggers a cascade of biological effects in the skin responsible for re-establishing skin integrity. Wound healing is a complex biological process inducing dermal remodelling leading at least to a visible scar, and sometimes to hypertrophic or keloid scars. Recent studies suggest that using a laser generates a precisely defined thermal effect in the skin, improving the wound healing process and potentially opening the door to scarless healing.

Scar prevention using Laser-Assisted Skin Healing (LASH) in plastic surgery.

Background: The use of lasers has been proposed for scar revision. A recent pilot clinical study demonstrated that lasers could also be used immediately after surgery to reduce the appearance of scars. The LASH (Laser-Assisted Skin Healing) technique induces a temperature elevation in the skin which modifies the wound-healing process.

Laser-assisted skin healing (LASH) in hypertrophic scar revision.

Laser-Assisted Skin Healing (LASH) is based on the therapeutic effects of controlled thermal post-conditioning. The authors have previously demonstrated on humans that an 810-nm diode-laser system could assist wound closure leading to an improvement of wound healing with a resulting indiscernible scar. A 47-year-old woman (skin type II), who developed systematically hypertrophic scars after surgery, was enrolled for a hypertrophic scar revision.

Can thermal lasers promote skin wound healing?

Lasers are now widely used for treating numerous cutaneous lesions, for scar revision (hypertrophic and keloid scars), for tissue welding, and for skin resurfacing and remodeling (wrinkle removal). In these procedures lasers are used to generate heat. The modulation of the effect (volatilization, coagulation, hyperthermia) of the laser is obtained by using different wavelengths and laser parameters.