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Silicone Taping For The Improvement Of Abdominal Donor Site Scars Following Autologous Breast Reconstruction: A Randomized, Prospective Self-controlled Trial
Emily Burke, MD FRCSC, Julia Harrison, PhD, Emily M. Krauss, MD MSc FRCSC, Jason Williams, MD MEd FRCSC, Michael Bezuhly, MD MSc SM FRCSC FAAP,
Margaret Wheelock, MD FRCSC.
Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
PURPOSE: Silicone-based products improve the appearance of abdominal scars after surgical procedures
1, but uptake is limited in resource-restricted environments due to device cost. Does standard silicone scar tape improve self-reported and surgeon-reported scar appearance in post-surgical abdominal scars?
METHODS: A prospective single-centre single-blind randomized self-control clinical trial was performed on 41 sequentially recruited and consented DIEP autologous breast reconstruction patients. Using a split-scar methodology, silicone scar tape was applied to the randomized side of the abdominal scar 2 weeks post-operatively and worn 24 hours per day for three months. The Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) was completed at 6 weeks, 3-, 6-, and 12-months. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were performed to detect statistical significance in patient and observer scar scores.
RESULTS: The primary outcome (Total Observer Score) by blinded surgeon-observers was clinically and statistically improved with silicone tape at 3 and 6 months post-operatively (p=0.0005, p=0.0025) (Figure 1). Observer overall impression scores were significant at 6 weeks, 3 and 6 months (p=0.0496, p=0.0015, p=0.0067) (Figure 2), indicating improved scar appearance with silicone tape.
CONCLUSION: This single-blind RCT supports the efficacy of affordable silicone taping to improve early scar appearance of post-surgical abdominal scars.
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