Accelerated healing of carbon dioxide laser burns in rats treated with composite polyurethane dressings.

Healing time, infection rate, and residual scar formation were compared in carbon dioxide laser burns in rats treated in four ways: Spandra composite dressing, OpSite composite dressing, Petrolatum Gauze (USP), and no treatment. There were no infections and no differences in scar formation among the treatment groups. The mean healing times were ten days for the polyurethane dressings (Spandra and OpSite), 13 days for Petrolatum Gauze, and 16 days for the untreated group. Spandra was easier to apply and handle than OpSite. These findings suggest that synthetic gas-permeable dressings promote healing after cutaneous carbon dioxide laser surgery more effectively than conventional treatments of ointment-impregnated gauze or leaving the wound exposed to the air.