"Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation" or more commonly known as
Laser has become very popular in the field of dermatology and aesthetic medicine over the past decades. For the treatment of wound healing, a combination of different wavelengths for
laser therapy has been introduced which includes 660, 800, and 970 nm. The aim of this study was to note wound healing utilizing
photobiomodulation as an adjunct
therapy by measuring the
wound size in terms of length and width (area measurement). Study participants were selected randomly from a pool of patients who were attending for their routine follow-up visits in the
Wound Care Unit in Hospital Kuala Lumpur. Eleven patients with chronic
wounds of different etiologies, ie,
diabetic foot ulcer and nonhealing
ulcer, were recruited for this study .
Wound assessment was done prior to cleansing using distilled water and followed by
debridement if necessary. Subsequently, the
laser technician and patients used protective
goggles before applying a super intense continuous flow of
laser with 3 wavelengths, ie, 660, 800, and 970 nm with 30 kJ of energy with the handpiece over a 3 min period whereby it is focused on the
wound milieu and then rotated around the periwound area. There were 9
diabetic foot ulcers and 2 nonhealing
ulcers treated with
photobiomodulation as an adjunct
therapy. All
wounds were managed with the standard of care. Three
wounds ie, 3
diabetic foot ulcers and 1 nonhealing
ulcer were closed completely. Meanwhile, the other 7
ulcers are at 68.2% to 99% in terms of
wound area reduction and new granulomatous tissue was present indicating high healing potential. Therefore, the
photobiomodulation was effective as an adjunct in the management of
diabetic foot and nonhealing
ulcers in this case series. A larger sample size would be able to show the significance of this finding.