The use of intense pulsed light in the treatment of scars

Skin healing results in scar formation, which can be atrophic, proliferative, erythematous, or pigmented. Many different procedures are available for improving scars: surgical, topical medications, local irradiation, cryosurgery, and ablative or nonablative lasers. Intense pulsed light sources emit noncoherent, broadband wavelength, pulsed light that can treat vascular and pigmented lesions and therefore act on the vasculature and the pigmentation of a scar to improve its appearance and/or symptoms that may coexist. We present our experience with intense pulsed light in the treatment of scars over a 3-year period. Patient satisfaction is high in the majority of cases, and combination with other treatments has yielded the best results. Intense pulsed light treatments are applicable to and effective in almost all types of scars and can easily be combined with other treatment methods.