Silicone products, either in sheet or fluid form, stands as the first-line of therapy in preventing and treating hypertrophic scars and keloids. However, this is debatable, and a large systematic synopsis has never been published on the efficacy of fluid silicone gels. The present study assembles the evidence for fluid silicone gels use and offers a complete and comprehensive overview of the available literature and a meta-analysis of the overall data.

The study performed a systematic search for randomized controlled trials concerning using silicone gel to treat and prevent scars on three different databases (Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane Library) following PRISMA guidelines.

The study observed:

• Five hundred seven articles to fit the inclusion criteria. 
• Identification of two articles through other sources. 
• Inclusion of 18 articles after screening 340 records on title and abstract and full-text screening of 23 articles.

The study then conducted a meta-analysis to compare fluid silicone gel to no intervention or placebo gels. It concluded that:

• Numerous studies have investigated the effects of liquid silicone gels on hypertrophic scars.
• Using liquid silicone gels renders both a prophylactic and a curative effect on scars. 
• However, a significant amount of the available strong evidence trials may have a high-risk for bias, and it is unclear if the effects of silicone gels are identical to silicone sheets and if the additional components present in numerous silicone gels are partly accountable for their scar improving capacity.

Source: De Decker I, Hoeksema H, Verbelen J, et al. The use of fluid silicone gels in the prevention and treatment of hypertrophic scars: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Burns. 2022;48(3):491-509.