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Montgomery Gillard, MD; Timothy S. Wang, MD; Charles M. Boyd, MD; Rodney L. Dunn, MS; Darrell J. Fader, MD; Timothy M. Johnson, MD

Arch Dermatol. 2002;138:1035-1039.

Objective  To directly compare cosmetic improvement and postoperative sequelae resulting from dermabrasion of surgical scars with conventional motor-powered diamond fraise vs manual dermabrasion with medium-grade drywall sanding screen.

Design  Patients were randomly assigned to receive treatment with conventional diamond fraise dermabrasion to one half of the scar and manual dermabrasion with a drywall sanding screen to the other half in a prospective, comparative clinical study. Blinded observers assessed clinical variables during a 6-month follow-up period.

Setting  University hospital/cancer center–based cutaneous surgery unit.

Patients  Twenty-one healthy volunteers, Fitzpatrick skin type I to III, with contour irregularities resulting from granulation (7 patients) or reconstruction (14 patients) after skin cancer excision.

Interventions  One half of the patient's scar was treated with motor-powered diamond fraise dermabrasion and the other half was treated with manual dermabrasion with medium-grade drywall sanding screen.

Main Outcome Measures  Correction of contour, scarline visibility, time to reepithelialization, presence or absence of milia, degree of postoperative erythema, hypertrophic scarring, patients' subjective reports of postoperative pain, and presence of pigmentary changes were observed for both methods. Standardized scoring systems were used to quantify outcome measures.

Results  According to the standardized scoring systems, no differences were found between the 2 methods at any point. In addition, no significant differences were found between the methods for any measure at any of the time points.

Conclusion  Both dermabrasion techniques are equally effective in improving the cosmetic appearance of surgical scars.

From the Departments of Dermatology (Drs Gillard, Wang, Boyd, Fader, and Johnson) and Otorhinolaryngology (Drs Boyd, Fader, and Johnson), the Division of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery (Dr Johnson), and the Biostatistics Unit (Mr Dunn), University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor.