Striae distensae are common undesirable skin lesions of significant aesthetic concern. To compare the efficacy of two fluences (75 and 100 J/cm) of long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser in the treatment of striae. Forty-five patients (Fitzpatrick skin types III-V) aged between 11 and 36 years with striae (23 patients with rubra type and 22 with alba type) were enrolled in the study. Each stria was divided into three equal sections, whereby the outer sections were treated with long-pulsed 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser, at a fluence of 75 or 100 J/cm, and fixed laser settings of 5 mm spot size and 15 ms pulse duration. The middle section was an untreated control. All subjects received four treatments at 3 weeks interval. Three 2-mm punch biopsies were taken from six subjects, all of the same stria, one before treatment and the other two from the outer sections, 3 months after the last session. Paraffin-embedded skin sections were subjected to histological and quantitative morphometric studies for collagen and elastic fibres. Results were assessed clinically through photographic evaluation and were considered satisfactory for both doctors and patients. A significant improvement in appearance of striae alba using 100 J/cm was found while striae rubra improved more with 75 J/cm. Histologically, collagen and elastin fibres increased in posttreatment samples. A satisfactory improvement in striae distensae lesions was seen through clinical and histological evaluation. Thus, long-pulsed Nd:YAG laser is a safe and effective module of laser treatment for these common skin lesions.

Introduction: Stretch marks, or striae distensae (SD), are the lesions of the dermis caused by its linear atrophy at the sites of stretching. They occur in more than 70% of pregnant women and adolescents as a result of cutaneous stretching. This study aimed at evaluating and comparing the clinical and histological efficacy of the fractional CO2 laser versus the long pulsed (LP) Nd: YAG laser in the treatment of striae alba. Methods: Thirty female subjects having bilateral symmetrical stretch marks were managed by the LP Nd: YAG laser on the right side and the fractional CO2 laser on the left side. The laser treatment course consisted of 3 sessions with an interval of 3 weeks. The patient satisfaction score and the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) were employed in the study in order to assess the improvement 3 months after therapy. Punch biopsies measuring 4 mm were extracted from one lesion on each side at baseline and after the last treatment session by 3 months to evaluate the thickness of both collagen and epidermis Results: Clinical improvement was more significant in the lesions treated by the LP Nd:YAG laser than those treated with the fractional CO2 laser. The patient satisfaction score and the GAIS were higher with a statistically significant value in the side treated by the LP Nd:YAG laser. Collagen and epidermal thickness increased more in the LP Nd: YAG laser-treated lesions in comparison to their thickness in the fractional CO2 laser-managed lesions, but this difference did not have a statistical significance. Conclusion: The clinical efficacy of the LP Nd-YAG laser exceeded that of the fractional CO2 laser in the treatment of striae alba without severe side effects in spite of the insignificant histological difference between the two lasers.

Background: Striae Distansae (SD) are a disfiguring dermal lesion, characterized by lines of dermal atrophy, occurring at sites of dermal damage caused by stretching. They affect adolescents and more than 70% of pregnant females due to stretching of the skin.Objectives: To assess and to compare the effect of 1, 064 nm Long Pulsed (LP) Nd: YAG laser and Fractional CO2 laser clinically and histologically in treating SD.Materials/Methods: Thirty female patients with bilateral symmetrical SD were treated with Fractional CO2 laser on one side and long-pulsed Nd: YAG laser on the other side. All patients treated with 3 laser sessions at 3 weeks interval. Global Aesthetic improvement scale (GAIS) and the score of patient satisfaction were used to evaluate improvement 3 months post treatment. Four mm punch biopsies were taken from each side before treatment and 3 months after the last session to measure epidermal and collagen thickness.Results: More significant clinical improvement was noted with the Nd:YAG laser than Fractional CO2 laser. Both GAIS and satisfaction score were significantly higher in the Nd:YAG laser treated side epidermal and collagen thickness were evidently increased in the lesions treatd by Nd: YAG laser than those treated by Fractional CO2 laser with no significant difference.Conclusions: Long pulsed Nd-YAG laser is clinically more effective than the Fractional CO2 laser in treating SD without serious adverse effects, although there was no significant difference between them histopathologically.