Recent evidence depicts that intralesional botulinum toxin type-A (BTX-A) is beneficial for scar cosmesis.

A new study published in Annals of Dermatology aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of combination treatment of laser and BTX-A injection, and to compare the effects of conventional intralesional injection and intra- and perilesional BTX-A injection on fibrotic thyroidectomy scars.

This study enrolled 24 patients with fibrotic thyroidectomy scars,who had insufficient responses to previous ablative fractional laser (AFL) treatment. All patients received combination treatment with AFL and BTX-A injection. Patients who were given intra/perilesional BTX-A injections formed the group A while group B comprised patients who received only intralesional injection. The improvement was assessed based on the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS).

The results revealedstatistically significant improvement in pliability and total VSS score in all participants. While the pliability, height and total VSS improved significantly in group A, in group B, the only notable improvement was in pliability.

It was inferred that BTX-A injection combined with AFL can provide better resolution of the previously treated fibrotic thyroidectomy scars. Injection with BTX-A—whether in the scar itself or into perilesional muscles—that can exert tension on the scar site, may provide additional benefit in flattening scar height.

Source: Annals of Dermatology. 2021 Apr;33(2):170-177. doi: 10.5021/ad.2021.33.2.170.