Abstract
Severe scarring caused by acne is associated with environmental effects as well as substantial physical and psychological distress, particularly in adolescents. This study aims to evaluate distribution of acne scars in Taif city as an environmental reflection of high altitude as well as its treatment with laser. Patients with moderate to severe acne scars (139 patients) were treated with FCO2 or Erbium: Yttrium Aluminum -Garnet (Er:YAG) laser resurfacing over 4 to 8 week. The therapeutic response was assessed two months after the last laser session using a quartile grading scale by a dermatologist. The response to treatment was labelled in grading improvement scale as 'excellent' if there was a >75% improvement in scar appearance and skin texture, while 51-75% was labeled as very good improvement, while a 2550% response labelled as good and 25% improvement was labelled as 'fair'. The patients' overall skin improvement and any adverse effects were noted. The patient's age category between 12 to 29 years old represented the higher acne scars percentage (37.3%), few of them were male (15.5%). Other patients (143, 74.1%) had Fitzpatrick classification of skin type 2 and 3. An excellent response was observed in 36.3% of patients, while 21.8% and 22.8% demonstrated very good and good responses, respectively. Ice pick and superficial boxcar scars responded best, while rolling scars responded least to fractional laser or Erbium treatment. Another interesting finding in this study that male patients had more serious grade of acne scars than female patients, with significant statistical correlation of (p<0.005). The most commonly reported adverse effects were transient crusting that lasted for an average of 2-7 days, while two patients developed post-inflammatory pigmentation lasting for more than 7 days. It was concluded that, fractional laser is effective in treating acne scars, especially ice pick and superficial boxcar scars, with minimal adverse effects.