Antibiotic prophylaxis for full-face laser resurfacing: is it necessary?

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the need for antibiotic prophylaxis when performing full-face laser resurfacing. METHOD Prospective study of 31 patients undergoing full-face laser resurfacing, 17 with and 14 without antibiotic prophylaxis. OBSERVATION Four of 14 patients without antibiotic prophylaxis had microbiologic and clinical evidence of infection. None of the 17 patients with antibiotic prophylaxis had clinical infection. Early treatment prevented adverse sequelae in the 4 patients who developed infection. CONCLUSION Antibiotic prophylaxis against Staphylococcus aureus is useful but not essential, because meticulous wound care and close clinical monitoring of patients daily with routine bacterial swabs can detect infection early.