The Effect of a Silicone Gel on Burn Scars in a Randomized, Double- Blind, Placebo-Controlled Prospective Clinical Trial

Introduction & The aim of burn scar management is to prevent scars from interfering with normal function and to make them cosmetically acceptable. Silicone gel treatment has been shown to make scars more flexible and smoother. We therefore conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to study the efficacy of silicone gel on burn-induced hypertrophic scars. Thirty-eight patients with burn hypertrophic scars were selected. Each scar was divided into two segments and silicone gel was applied randomly to one of the two. Patients were followed after starting the treatment and visited again after one and four months. The patients’ data and wound characteristics (pigmentation, vascularity, pliability, pain and itchiness) were collected according to the Vancouver scar scale (the height of the scars was not included due to a lack of precise measuring equipment). Four patients (10.5%) failed to appear for their follow-up. The median age of all patients was 22 years (1.5 to 60 years). Sixteen patients (47.1%) were male. There were no significant differences in baseline characteristics. Although after the first month of follow-up, all scar scales measures were more diminished in the silicone gel treated areas than the control areas, but only the vascularity scale was significantly different between the two samples (P<0.05). In the second follow-up period (four months post-therapy), all scales were significantly lower in the silicone gel group than in the control group except for the pain score. According to our study, silicone gel is an effective treatment for hypertrophic burn scars.