POSSIBILITIES OF SCAR TREATMENT AFTER THORACIC-SURGERY

During a ten year observation period it was found that scar formation after thoracic surgery is influenced by various factors: metabolism, o perative technique and factors of a general nature. On the basis of th ese findings, a study was carried out to investigate the effect of the scar-specific Contractubex gel (Merz + Co., D-Frankfurt/Main), contai ning 10% onion extract, 50 U sodium heparin per g of gel and 1% allant oin, in the treatment of children who underwent thoracic surgery and t o evaluate its effect oil scar development Before and during the six-m onth treatment period, both macromorphology and scar colour were asses sed; furthermore, a global evaluation of the therapeutic result was ma de. Additionally, the scars were characterized after a six-month treat ment-free follow-up period. The results of 38 Contractubex-treated and 27 untreated patients were compared. in the treated scars, the global evaluation of the therapeutic result was better than in the untreated scars. in the Contractubex group, the rating was ''good'' and ''very good'' in 84% of cases, as compared to 59% of the untreated cases. in the treated group, the increase in scar size was markedly lower than i n the untreated patients. The treated scars showed a tendency towards quicker paling than the untreated scars. in the treated group, the con version of primary physiological scars to unphysiological scars (hyper trophic or keloidal scars) was less frequent than in the untreated gro up. The tolerability of the product was very good in 37 of the 38 trea ted patients, and good in one patient. All scar-specific effects of Co ntractubex continued to persist after the end of treatment.