The following is a summary of “The Combination of the Mini-Punch Technique and Photodynamic Therapy for the Treatment of Mandibular Keloids and Hypertrophic Scars” published in the December 2022 issue of Dermatologic Surgery by Luo et al.
The presence of mandibular keloids or hypertrophic scars might drastically alter the look of a patient. Current treatments, however, are not always successful. Because of this, it is crucial to locate a reliable therapy option. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of mini-punch surgery followed by photodynamic therapy (PDT) for the treatment of mandibular keloids and hypertrophic scars.
Researchers enrolled 20 patients with mandibular keloids and hypertrophic scars, with 40 lesions (5 keloids and 15 hypertrophic scars). Mini-punch was done initially, and then PDT was done once a week for 3 weeks. About 30 lesions showed more than 50% improvement after 12 months of follow-up, indicating a successful treatment impact. Patients’ pre-op scores on the Vancouver Scar Scale ranged from 8 to 12, with a mean of 9.60 ± 1.09 points, and their post-op scores ranged from 2 to 9, with a mean of 4.15± 2.05 points.
After therapy, patients reported a considerably decreased mean score on the Vancouver Scar Scale compared to before treatment (t = 11.80, P<.001). Therefore, to effectively treat mandibular keloids and hypertrophic scars, a combination of the mini-punch technique and PDT is used to effectively treat mandibular keloids and hypertrophic scars.
