ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of combined 10,600 nm fractional CO2and 1540 nm erbium GaAs laser therapy on atrophic acne scars.

The design of this study was pre- and post-test on patients with atrophic acne scars before and after receiving the combination laser therapy of fractional CO2and erbium GaAs. The sample size consisted of 20 medical records. The Acne Goodman-Baron Scar Score was used to score acne scars, which included morphology, quantity, depth, and width of the acne scars. The therapy was administered three times at 1-month intervals. The power and wavelength of the laser were adjusted based on the degree of the severity of the acne scar in each patient. The data were analyzed the hypothesis statistically using the Wilcoxon test, using the SPSS for Windows program, version 16.0.

There were significant differences (P = 0.007) between the means of the Goodman–Baron acne scar scores before and after combined 10,600 nm fractional CO2and 1540 nm erbium GaAs laser therapy. Side effects occurred in 50% of patients, where 35% experienced erythema and 15% experienced pruritus.

The combination of 1540 nm erbium GaAs and 10,600 nm fractional CO2laser therapy can be effective for treating atrophic acne scars on the face, with minimal side effects. However, longer therapy sessions are required for better results.