Early Carbon Dioxide Laser Therapy for Alleviation of Incisional Scar Burden

Inclusion Criteria:

- Patients of all ethnic origins will be considered, although certain ethnic groups will
be preferentially excluded more than others such as black and South Asian patients due
to our exclusion criteria related to darker skin individuals (see below).

- Patients undergoing bilateral breast reduction surgery

Exclusion Criteria:

- Males will be excluded from this study as male patients rarely undergo breast
reduction surgery. When males do undergo breast reduction surgery for gynecomastia, it
is often unilateral, and is performed with several techniques and incision types that
are not typical employed during female breast reduction. Thus, for this study, only
female patients will be considered (see below).

- Any patient enrolled in this study who shows evidence of delayed wound healing,
dehiscence, or post operative infection at the first post operative visit will be
excluded

- Patients with darker skin (Fitzpatrick IV and above), which is a well-known
contraindication to laser therapy

- Pregnant patients

- Patients who have had prior breast surgery

- Patients who have had prior chest/breast irradiation

- Patients with the following diseases which interferes with wound healing: prior
hypertrophic scarring/keloids, type I or type II Diabetes Mellitus, autoimmune
diseases/collagen vascular diseases

- Patients who are active smokers

- Patients using blood thinners that cannot be stopped

- Patients who have used aspirin within a week of the procedure date