Pulsed dye laser for the treatment of hypergranulation tissue with chronic ulcer in postsurgical defects.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Hypergranulation tissue may complicate postoperative wounds, causing them to become chronic nonhealing ulcers. There is no reliably effective treatment. We report the use of the 595-nm pulsed-dye laser (PDL) for the treatment of wounds healing by second intention and complicated by hypergranulation tissue after Mohs micrographic surgery. METHODS: In a retrospective case review, 9 patients with slow-healing or nonhealing postoperative wounds with hypergranulation tissue were treated with the 595-nm PDL. The majority of the wounds were located on the scalp, forehead, and temple. RESULTS: All of the patients demonstrated dramatic improvement after one treatment. Most patients achieved complete or near complete re-epithelialization of the ulcers after 1 to 2 treatments. The PDL treatment required no local anesthesia, and there were no postlaser treatment complications reported. CONCLUSIONS: The 595-nm PDL is an effective, safe, and reliable treatment to promote second intention healing in postsurgical wounds complicated by the formation of hypergranulation tissue.