Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging for the Objective Assessment of Blood Perfusion in Keloids Treated With Dual-Wavelength Laser Therapy.

Background: Most of the widely used methods for the assessment of keloid treatment are subjective grading scales based on the opinion of an individual clinician or patient. There is a growing need for objective methods to evaluate keloid treatment.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the value of laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) as an objective method for the assessment of dual-wavelength laser therapy for keloids.
Methods: This prospective study included 21 patients with 54 keloids. All patients were treated with a combined 585-nm pulsed dye laser and 1,064 nm neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet dual-wavelength laser at 4 weeks to 6 weeks intervals. Keloids were assessed using the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS) and LSCI.
Results: The total VSS score significantly decreased after 4 sessions of treatment (p < .05). Blood perfusion in keloids as measured by LSCI was significantly reduced after treatment (p < .05). The improvement of chest keloids in terms of the total VSS score and blood perfusion was significantly greater than that of scapular keloids (p < .05). There was a positive correlation between decreased perfusion and reduced total VSS score (R2 = 0.84).
Conclusion: Blood perfusion in keloids significantly decreased after dual-wavelength laser therapy. Laser speckle contrast imaging is a promising objective method for assessing the improvement of keloids treated with laser therapy.
(Copyright © 2020 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)