摘要
Aim:Scar prevention and reduction is an area of therapeutic opportunity and unmet medical need.With no current effective scar therapy,patients are often disappointed in their appearance post surgery and re-present to surgeons,only to be turned away.The purpose of this study was to develop and test a device that produces intermittent parallel stretch on new scars and to analyze its potential to reduce scarring.Methods:Mice were randomized into 5 scar stretch treatment groups:1 control,1 sham,and 3 stretch models(0.5×,1×,or 2×device strength)and treated for 10 days.Scars were scored using the Vancouver Scar Scale.Scar tissue samples were compared by histology and transforming growth factor beta 1(TGF-β1)expression between control and treatment groups.Results:Scar scores of 0.5×and 1×groups were significantly lower than the control group(P<0.05).Scar scores from the 1×treatment group were also significantly lower than the 0.5×group(P<0.05).Sham,control scar and 2×groups showed more collagen deposition and a thicker dermal scar than the 0.5×and 1×groups.Unstretched scars had fewer fibroblasts with more collagen deposition than the 0.5×and 2×groups.TGF-β1 levels were significantly lower in the 0.5×(342.1±9.2)and 1×(254.1±3.1)groups than in the control group(P<0.05).TGF-β1 levels in the 1×treatment group were also significantly lower than the 0.5×treatment group(P<0.05).Conclusion:Intermittent cutaneous tissue stretch parallel to scars during the proliferative phase of wound healing decreases fibrosis on a macroscopic,microscopic and biochemical level.
