The effect of light-emitting diode (590/830 nm)−based low-level laser therapy on posttraumatic edema of facial bone fracture patients

Posttraumatic edema in facial bone fracture patients may interfere with the operation field and delay the schedule. Thus, swiftly reducing the edema alleviates patient discomfort and advances the operation date. Ice packing and compression bandages are often used for such a purpose, but such methods are often inconvenient for the face. In this study, we aim to analyze the effect of light-emitting diode (LED) (590/830 nm)−based low-level laser therapy (LLLT) in posttraumatic edema in facial bone fracture patients. We conducted a prospective cohort study of 40 patients who were admitted to a single institution for facial bone fracture. The patients were divided into two groups of 20 each, treated either with LLLT or with sham treatment light. We used an LLLT device that consists of planar LED-based arrays with double wavelengths 590 nm and 830 nm. The patients were treated with either true or sham light from posttraumatic day 1–5, twice a day. After each treatment, the volume of a patient's face was measured with a 3-dimensional camera. We analyzed and compared the changes in facial edema. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was conducted for statistical comparison of the two groups, and significance was set to the level of p