Efficacy of lasers on reduction of post-surgical lip scar in cleft lip and palate patients: A systematic review

Abstract

Cleft lip scars, arising from congenital conditions or corrective surgeries, pose unique challenges in scar management, necessitating interventions that balance efficacy with minimally invasive approaches. Laser therapy, with its ability to precisely target scar tissue, has garnered attention for its potential to address hypertrophic scars. The aim of our systematic review is to evaluate the efficacy of lasers in reducing post-surgical cleft lip scar. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Google Scholar, Wiley library, Cochrane library databases for the studies published between 1 January 2003 and 1 October 2023. All studies were included in which a laser was used for scar reduction and had a minimum follow-up period of three months. For all study designs the appropriate Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools were used. Primary outcome was to measure reduction in scar using the Vancouver scar scale or total improvement in the scar. From this systematic review we can conclude that lasers have shown better results on post-surgical cleft lip scar. However, more comparative studies are needed with large sample sizes to assess the laser’s pure potential.