Efficacy of carboxytherapy in treatment of stretch marks

Background Striae distensae (SD) treatment is still challenging as multiple treatment options are available but there is not fully curative or preventive treatment. Aim To evaluate the efficacy and safety of carboxytherapy in treatment of stretch marks. Patients and methods Thirty female patients aged 18–50 years with stretch marks were enrolled in this study. Each patient was treated by carboxytherapy. Six sessions were done with 4 weeks apart. The evaluation of the clinical response to treatment was done every 4 weeks and 1 month after the last session by photos, Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale, and Patient Satisfaction Scale. Results At the end of the study, according to the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale, the majority of patients (18) showed improvement (60%), while 10 (33.3%) patients showed much improvement, two (6.7%) patients showed no changes, and no patients showed worsening or very much improvement. According to Likert satisfaction scale, 20 (66.7%) patients were satisfied, four (13.3%) patients were neither satisfied nor unsatisfied, three (10%) patients were very satisfied, the same percent (10%) were unsatisfied, and no patient was very unsatisfied. There was a statistically significant relation between satisfaction scale and type of SD, all very satisfied patients had striae rubra, while all unsatisfied patients had striae alba (P=0.031). Conclusion Carboxytherapy can be an effective and safe therapeutic option for SD with no significant side effects.