Patients Who Are More Likely to Have Problems with Laser Therapy of Striae Distensae

Some patients with striae distensae (stretch marks) respond well to pulsed dye laser therapy, while others should be approached with caution.

Parameters:

(1) Fitzgerald skin type

(2) expectations

(3) time horizon for results

(4) reaction to test dose

(5) history of reactions by other scars to therapy in the past

Parameter	Good Risk Patient	Poor Risk Patient
Fitzgerald skin type	I, II or untanned III	tanned III, IV, V, VI
expectations	reasonable	unreasonable and demanding
time horizon	willing to wait	immediate or short-term
reaction to test dose	favorable	unfavorable
history of scar reactions in the past	favorable	unfavorable

A patient who is a poor candidate for pulsed dye laser therapy should consider one or more of the many other therapeutic modalities available.

To read more or access our algorithms and calculators, please log in or register.