Author(s)
Sina Dadafarin
Alessandra Moscatello
Jaimee Cooper
Minali Abraham-Aggarwal
Enrique Gorbea Dolagaray, M.D.
Anni Wong, M.D.
Sunder Gidumal, M.D.
Augustine L. Moscatello M.D., F.A.C.S.
Jan Geliebter, Ph.D.
Manoj T. Abraham, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Affiliation(s)
New York Medical College (Dadafarin, Moscatello A., Cooper, Moscatello A.L., Geliebter, Abraham); Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Gorbea, Wong, Gidumal, Abraham);
Abstract:
Facial scarring results in altered body image, increases preoccupation with appearance, doubles the incidence of anxiety and depression, and decreases health-related quality of life. Furthermore, an estimated $4 billion a year is spent treating hypertrophic scars in the United States alone. The raised, red appearance of hypertrophic scars can not only be cosmetically problematic but also cause contractures that impair function. Of the therapeutic modalities available, intralesional injections of steroids, immunomodulators and chemotherapies have demonstrated improvement in scar appearance without requiring the invasiveness and burden of surgery. However, no direct comparison has been performed to compare the efficacy of the different injectable therapies. Using the rabbit ear hypertrophic scar model, we quantitatively and qualitatively determined the efficacy of three commonly used injectable treatments (dexamethasone, triamcinolone, and 5-fluorouracil). Furthermore, we used combination therapies to identify an optimal modality in reducing scar height and improving appearance. Results from this experiment will provide preclinical evidence for a therapeutic strategy that would lead to greater practitioner consistency in their choice of scar therapeutic.