Early Carbon Dioxide Laser Therapy for Alleviation of Incisional Scar Burden

Exclusion Criteria

• •Patients undergoing bilateral breast reduction surgery
• •Males will be excluded from this study as male patients rarely undergo breast reduction surgery. When males do undergo breast reduction surgery for gynecomastia, it is often unilateral, and is performed with several techniques and incision types that are not typical employed during female breast reduction. Thus, for this study, only female patients will be considered (see below).
• •Any patient enrolled in this study who shows evidence of delayed wound healing, dehiscence, or post operative infection at the first post operative visit will be excluded
• •Patients with darker skin (Fitzpatrick IV and above), which is a well-known contraindication to laser therapy
• •Pregnant patients
• •Patients who have had prior breast surgery
• •Patients who have had prior chest/breast irradiation
• •Patients with the following diseases which interferes with wound healing: prior hypertrophic scarring/keloids, type I or type II Diabetes Mellitus, autoimmune diseases/collagen vascular diseases
• •Patients who are active smokers
• •Patients using blood thinners that cannot be stopped
• •Patients who have used aspirin within a week of the procedure date