Filament coating system assists recovery of ablative fCO₂ laser treatment: A split-face clinical observation

Background: The current nursing procedure after fractional carbon dioxide (fCO(2)) is complex and needs to be optimized. The present study was conducted to evaluate the assisting effect of filament coating system after fCO(2) laser treatment.Methods: Chinese individuals aged from 18 to 65 years diagnosed as photoaging or atrophic acne scar were recruited and each participant was treated with one single pass of fCO(2) laser. A split face was randomly assigned as treatment side or control side. For control side, conventional procedure was topically applied respectively, including desonide cream two times for 3 days, fusidic acid cream two times for 7 days, and recombinant human epidermal growth factor (RhEGF) gel four times for 7 days; for treating side, a filament coating system was applied immediately after one application of fusidic acid cream, desonide cream and RhEGF, and removed 3 h later, for 3 days. Erythema, edema, crust, and pain on both sides were scored from 0 to 10 before and 1, 2, 4, and 7 days after fCO(2) laser treatment. Stratum corneum hydration (SCH) and sebum of forehead and cheek on both sides were also measured by using Corneometer-Sebumeter.Results: Twenty photoaging and 11 atrophic acne scar participants finished the observation. All of them complained of erythema, edema, crust, and pain after fCO(2) laser treatment, and the scores decreased as time passed by. There were no statistical significances of erythema, edema, crust, pain, SCH, and sebum between treating side and control side at each observation time.Conclusion: Filament coating system was effective, safe, convenient, and economic in assisting recovery of ablative fCO(2) laser, which might be a new option for additional nursing procedure.