Laser Treatment of Scars and Keloids

The use of laser technology for the treatment of existing surgical scars as well as the minimization of new postoperative scars has gained considerable attention from the dermatologic and plastic surgery communities in recent years. We discuss the principles of scar treatment with both ablative and nonablative lasers, including the expanded role of fractionated technologies. We also review the evidence supporting the applicability of commonly encountered laser technologies in treating various scar types to provide busy practitioners with a resource that will facilitate the utilization of available lasers in the clinical setting. Finally, we discuss combination laser therapy, which we feel is the next frontier in laser scar treatment and prevention.