Combined tretinoin and glycolic acid treatment improves mouth opening for postburn patients

Postburn tissue repair progresses late, with changes in the skin's physical properties. Clinically, the skin appears dry, scaly, and dyschromic, with diminished elasticity, particularly in the presence of hypertrophic scars. Improvement of postburn skin can be obtained by using topical agents normally used in pathologies such as acne and photoaging. This study analyzed 77 patients, ages 6 to 46 years, with late perioral burn sequelae. The resulting integument was classified as grafted or restored when it epithelialized spontaneously. Topical treatment consisted of tretinoin (0.01-0.05%) and glycolic acid (5-7%) over a 3-month period. With the mouth opened maximally, the interdental (D) and interlabial (L) distances were measured using a digital caliper. Significant increases in D and L distances were observed after treatment, as compared with controls (p < 0.01). These results were similar in the restored and skin-grafted groups.