Each year in Hong Kong, about 350,000 surgical procedures are conducted for various types of conditions. Previous review indicated that the prevalence of hypertrophic scar among Caucasians ranged from 15% to 63% and that the incidence was even higher among non-Caucasians. This study aims to find out the prevalence rate of hypertrophic scar among the Hong Kong Chinese population after standardiz...

OBJECTIVES To critically assess the prevalence among schoolchildren 6 to 9 years of age throughout the Dominican Republic of a bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination scar, and to examine the relationship between nutritional and sociodemographic factors and the likelihood of having a BCG scar. METHODS This correlational study used the database of the Second National Census on Height and Wei...

BACKGROUND Defining the arrhythmogenic substrate is essential for successful ablation of scar-related ventricular tachycardia. The visual characteristics of endocardial ischemic scar have not been described in vivo. The goal of this study was (1) to quantify the visual characteristics of normal tissue, scar border zone, and dense scar in vivo with the use of a novel endoscopic catheter that all...

BACKGROUND Abnormal scar development following burn injury can cause substantial physical and psychological distress to children and their families. Common burn scar prevention and management techniques include silicone therapy, pressure garment therapy, or a combination of both. Currently, no definitive, high-quality evidence is available for the effectiveness of topical silicone gel or pressu...

At present, various scar assessment scales are available, but not one has been shown to be reliable, consistent, feasible, and valid at the same time. Furthermore, the existing scar assessment scales appear to attach little weight to the opinion of the patient. The newly developed Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale consists of two numeric scales: the Patient Scar Assessment Scale (patie...

Radiofrequency ablation is a promising procedure for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) that relies on accurate lesion delivery in the left atrial (LA) wall for success. Late Gadolinium Enhancement MRI (LGE MRI) at three months post-ablation has proven effective for noninvasive assessment of the location and extent of scar formation, which are important factors for predicting patient outcome and...