Background: Atrophic acne scars are difficult to treat. The demand for less invasive but highly effective treatment for scars is growing. Objective: To assess the efficacy of combination therapy using subcision, microneedling and 15% trichloroacetic acid (TCA) peel in the management of atrophic scars. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with atrophic acne scars were graded using Goodman and Baron Qualitative grading. After subcision, dermaroller and 15% TCA peel were performed alternatively at 2-weeks interval for a total of 6 sessions of each. Grading of acne scar photographs was done pretreatment and 1 month after last procedure. Patients own evaluation of improvement was assessed. Results: Out of 16 patients with Grade 4 scars, 10 (62.5%) patients improved to Grade 2 and 6 (37.5%) patients improved to Grade 3 scars. Out of 22 patients with Grade 3 scars, 5 (22.7%) patients were left with no scars, 2 (9.1%) patients improved to Grade 1and 15 (68.2%) patients improved to Grade 2. All 11 (100%) patients with Grade 2 scars were left with no scars. There was high level of patient satisfaction. Conclusion: This combination has shown good results in treating not only Grade 2 but also severe Grade 4 and 3 scars.

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Scar formation is an inevitable consequence of wound healing from either a traumatic or a surgical intervention. The aesthetic appearance of a scar is the most important criteria to judge the surgical outcome. An understanding of the anatomy and wound healing along with experience, meticulous planning and technique can reduce complications and improve the surgical outcome. Scar revision does not erase a scar but helps to make it less noticeable and more acceptable. Both surgical and non-surgical techniques, used either alone or in combination can be used for revising a scar. In planning a scar revision surgeon should decide on when to act and the type of technique to use for scar revision to get an aesthetically pleasing outcome. This review article provides overview of methods applied for facial scar revision. This predominantly covers surgical methods.

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Context: Port-wine stain (PWS) is one of the commonly encountered congenital cutaneous vascular lesions, with an equal sex distribution. Pulsed dye lasers (PDL) have revolutionized the treatment of both congential and acquired cutaneous vascular lesions. The pulsed dye lasers owing to its superior efficacy and safety profile have become the gold standard for the management of port-wine stains. Aims: To evaluate the efficacy and side effects of pulsed dye laser for the management of Port-wine stain on Indian skin. Materials and Methods: Seventy five patients of Fitzpatrick skin types IV&V with PWS underwent multiple treatments with PDL (V beam-Candela) over a period of six years at monthly intervals. Laser parameters were wavelength 595nm, spot sizes 7-10mm, fluence 6-12 j/cm2, pulse duration 0.45-10ms, along with cryogen cooling. Serial photographs were taken before and after every session. Clinical improvement scores of comparable photographs using a quartile grading (o=<20%, 1=21-40%, 2=41-60%, 3=61-80%, 4=>80%) were judged independently by two dermatologists after the series of treatment. Minimum number of treatments was 6 and maximum 17.They were followed up at six monthly intervals to observe re darkening of PWS. Results: No patient showed total clearance.Grade3 improvement was observed in 70 % of children and 50% of adults after 8-10 sessions. Children showed better and faster response than adults. Thirty percent of patients developed post inflammatory hyper pigmentation which resolved over a period of six to eight weeks. Two patients had superficial scarring due to stacking of pulses. None of the patients showed re darkening of PWS till now. Conclusion: Pulsed dye laser is an effective and safe treatment for port-wine stain in Indian skin.

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Background: Autologous mini punch grafting (MPG) is a safe, effective and easy technique that can be performed on any site with minimal side effects and good cosmetic results. Large areas of stable generalised vitiligo require more grafts and are time consuming. Hence multiple sessions of surgery need to be scheduled. We share our experience of using motorised power punches to increase the speed of surgery in large areas of stable vitiligo in 10 patients. Materials and Methods: Ten patients in the age group of 12-55 years were treated with miniature punch grafting using power punches in single session on various sites. The power punches of 1-1.5 mm diameter were used to score donor and recipient sites, either of same or less than 0.2-0.3 mm size punches. The harvested grafts from donor site were then secured in the recipient beds and dressed. Results: The average number of grafts harvested per session was 125-185, the duration of surgery ranged from 45 to 90 minutes. Perigraft pigment spread was seen at 3 weeks. Complete repigmentation was observed in 3-4 months in eight patients. Cobble stoning was observed in one patient, and all donor sites healed well with superficial scarring. Conclusion: We conclude that autologous MPG with motorised power punches for stable vitiligo, especially on large areas including difficult sites can be performed with ease in comparatively lesser time in a single session, greatly benefiting the patients.

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Keloids of the helical rim are disfiguring. A cosmetically acceptable reconstruction is difficult especially in moderate to large sized lesions because the helical rim is a 3-dimensional structure with curved and thin cartilage. We report our experience in the management of moderate (4-10 cm) and large (>10 cm) helical rim keloids in five patients. Six helical rim keloids were reconstructed. There were four moderate (4-10 cm) and two large (>10 cm) helical rim keloids. Four were on the right helix and two on the left helix. One patient had bilateral helical rim keloids. The follow-up period ranged from 6 months to 4 years. No secondary surgical revision was required to improve the contour of the reconstructed helical rim. The aesthetic results were satisfactory in all the patients.

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Bindi tattoo on the forehead, is one of the cultural practice in Indian women from rural areas. Many patients are not pleased with the appearance of their tattoo and thus seek removal. The development of quality-switched lasers has revolutionized the removal of unwanted tattoos. However, despite multiple treatment sessions, the efficacy is often found to be limited. We herein report a case of green-blue bindi tattoo which failed to clear after 8 sessions of Q-switched Nd YAG laser. The tattoo significantly cleared with R-20 method using low fluence Q-switched Nd YAG Laser. R-20 technique seems to be an effective method of tattoo removal and might be a boon for patients who are reluctant to pursue laser treatment because of fear of expenditure, side effects and uncertainty of result. We report efficacy of R-20 technique for a bindi tattoo on forehead.

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Background: Gel nails are a commonly used cosmetic procedure, though their use by dermatologists has not been evaluated. These can be used to improve the appearance of cosmetically disfigured nails where other treatment options have failed; the condition is self-limiting or irreversible; or to camouflage the dystrophy until healing. Materials and Methods: A prospective, uncontrolled, open-label study on 25 participants presenting with cosmetically disfigured nails was undertaken. Mycologically negative, consenting patients with various nail plate surface abnormalities like trachyonychia (n =8); superficial pitting (n =6); onychorrhexis (n =4); superficial pitting with onychoschizia (n =3); Beau's lines (n =3) and pterygium (n =1) were included. The patients received gel nail application using Ranara gel nail kit ^® . Extra care was taken to avoid any damage to cuticle. Standard pre- and post-treatment photographs were taken to assess improvement. Patient satisfaction score (1-10); Global assessment score of improvement (no improvement to excellent improvement) and any side effects reported were recorded. Results: The average age of treated patients was 30.44±11.39 years (range 18-60 years). A total of 69 nails were treated (average of 2.76 per patient). Post-procedure, the average patient satisfaction score was 9.08 ± 0.86 (range 7-10). The Global assessment showed excellent improvement (40% cases); good improvement (56% cases) and mild improvement in the single case of pterygium treated. Conclusions: The use of Gel nails in patients with cosmetically disfiguring nail plate surface abnormalities (like trachyonychia, onychoschizia, pitting, etc.) was found to produce good to excellent improvement in most of the cases. The patient satisfaction with the procedure was rated as high. This, coupled with absence of side effects, make gel nails a valuable tool in improving cosmesis and satisfaction among patients presenting with nail plate surface abnormalities. Further studies with larger number of patients are required to assess the impact these prostheses can have.

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Background: There is a wide array of articles in medical literature for and against the laser effect on wound healing but without discrete effect determination or conclusion. This experimental study aims to evaluate the efficacy of low-level laser therapy on wound healing. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four rabbits were randomly enrolled in two groups after creating a full thickness of 3 × 3 cm wound. The intervention group received low density laser exposure (4 J/cm ² ) on days 0, 3 and 6 with diode helium-neon low-intensity laser device (wl = 808 nm) and in control group moist wound dressing applied. Finally, wound-healing process was evaluated by both gross and pathological assessment. Results: Fibrin formation was the same in the two groups (P = 0.4) but epithelialisation was much more in laser group (P = 0.02). Wound inflammation of the laser group was smaller than that of the control groups but statistical significance was not shown (P = 0.09). Although more smooth muscle actin was found in the wounds of the laser group but it was not statistically significant (P = 0.3). Wound diameter showed significant decrease in wound area in laser group (P = 0.003). Conclusion: According to our study, it seems that low-level laser therapy accelerates wound healing at least in some phases of healing process. So, we can conclude that our study also shows some hopes for low level laser therapy effect on wound healing at least in animal model.

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Aim: Infantile haemangiomas are the most common tumor of infancy. We report the use of propranolol for treatment of problematic and complicated haemangiomas. Patients and Methods: Propranolol was given to 52 children with mean age of 18.2 months at onset of treatment. After clinical and electrocardiographic evaluations, propranolol was administered with a starting dose of 2 mg/kg per day, given in 3 divided doses. Monthly follow up was done, response to oral propranolol therapy and any complications of therapy were recorded. Response to propranolol was classified as Complete Response, Excellent Response, Partial Response and Non Responder. Results: Total 49 patients showed significant improvement after propranolol therapy out of which 4 patients were complete responder, 30 patients (56.7%) were excellent responders; 15 patients (28.8%) were partial responders. 3 patients (5.7%) had growth of haemangiomas despite propranolol therapy and were classified as non-responder. Side effect like hypotension, rashes, gastroesophageal reflux was reported by 3 patients. In our study mean duration of treatment was 6.5 months. At the end of treatment propranolol was stopped by with gradual tapering of dose over a period of 2 weeks. Conclusion: Propranolol administered orally at 2 mg/kg per day has rapid effective therapeutic effect in treatment of ulcerated haemangiomas and it appears to be a valuable and effective treatment option for infantile haemangiomas beyond the proliferative phase, and esthetically disfiguring haemangiomas.

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