Effects of Botulinum Toxin on Improving Facial Surgical Scars: A Prospective, Split-Scar, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Early intervention might improve the quality of surgical scars. Botulinum toxin type A has been shown to improve surgical scars in the past decade. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of botulinum toxin type A on surgical facial scars. Methods: In this prospective, split-scar, double-blind, randomized controlled trial, 16 consecutive patients who underwent facial surgery between June and October of 2015 were enrolled. Botulinum toxin type A was injected randomly into half of each surgical wound closure immediately after surgery. The scars were assessed independently by two plastic surgeons at a 6-month follow-up visit using the Vancouver Scar Scale and the visual analogue scale. The scar width was also measured. Results: Fourteen patients completed the study. The visual analogue scale score and scar width measurements revealed a significant improvement in appearance and narrower scars for the botulinum toxin type A–treated halves of the scars ( p = 0.046 and p = 0.001, respectively). The mean Vancouver Scar Scale score was 4.68 for the botulinum toxin type A–injected group and 5.24 for the control group ( p = 0.15). In addition, the Vancouver Scar Scale height score was significantly different between the two groups ( p = 0.008). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that early postsurgical botulinum toxin injections can produce better, narrower, and flatter facial surgical scars. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, II.