HIV Risk Perception Among Migrant Girl Head Porters (Kayayei) in Ghana.

Acne scars are a common lifelong sequela in patients with acne, resulting from inflammatory responses, infection, improper treatment, and other factors. These pathogenic processes damage the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, leading to the breakdown, loss, or aberrant proliferation of collagen and elastic fibers. Acne scars are clinically categorized into atrophic scars, hypertrophic scars, and keloids according to their pathological features. A meta-analysis by Tan et al. (2017) reported that approximately 43% of patients with acne develop scars of varying severity, with the incidence positively correlated with acne severity (). Acne scars are often difficult to treat and may significantly affect patients’ physical and mental health. Early intervention and anti-inflammatory repair are therefore essential to prevent further skin damage and the formation of prominent scars. Additionally, controlling excessive sebaceous secretion and reducing inflammatory injury are effective strategies to decrease the risk of acne scarring. Current dermatological treatment strategies for acne scars primarily involve external interventions, including phototherapy, surgery, filler injections, and chemical exfoliation (). These approaches are often combined with clinical drug therapy to enhance efficacy. Topical medications, such as silicone preparations and heparin sodium allantoin, and local injections, including glucocorticoids, botulinum toxin type A, fluorouracil, and bleomycin, are commonly employed (, ). However, acne scars are frequently irreversible, with the highest risk occurring during youth. Scarring can lead to negative psychological outcomes, maladaptive coping behaviors, and a reduced quality of life (). Current clinical treatments often have limitations: monotherapy rarely achieves ideal outcomes and may be associated with adverse effects (). Moreover, some treatments are effective only for specific types of acne scars—for example, photodynamic therapy is generally limited to patients with -dependent moderate to severe acne (). Consequently, there is a critical need to develop new, effective treatment strategies to improve the quality of life for patients with acne scars. Laser cosmetology is a medical aesthetic technology that utilizes lasers of specific wavelengths to target skin tissues. Through the principle of selective photothermal action, lasers can selectively decompose pigment cells without causing significant damage to surrounding healthy tissues, thereby achieving therapeutic effects for acne, freckles, wrinkles, and other skin concerns. The application of lasers in dermatology began in 1963 when Goldman successfully used a ruby laser to treat benign skin lesions and tattoos (), establishing a precedent for the medical use of lasers. With technological advancements, systematic treatment protocols have been developed for acne scars. To inhibit sebaceous gland secretion and reduce inflammation, various near-infrared wavelength lasers—such as the 1,320 nm, 1,450 nm, and 1,550 nm lasers—are commonly employed (). For the treatment of post-inflammatory erythema, intense pulsed light and pulsed dye lasers are frequently used (). Non-ablative fractional lasers (1,440 nm, 1,540 nm, and 1,550 nm) and ablative fractional lasers (2,940 nm, 10,600 nm) are widely applied to improve acne scarring (). Clinically, small spot sizes, low energy levels, and low lattice density parameters (), are often employed in multiple treatment sessions to optimize efficacy while ensuring patient safety. Despite the early adoption of laser therapy for acne scars, standardized treatment guidelines and long-term safety data remain limited, particularly across different scar types, stages, and skin types (). Unified risk stratification standards and long-term follow-up studies are lacking (), and controversies persist regarding both safety and long-term efficacy. Studies have reported that prolonged or high-energy laser treatments, particularly with near-infrared and ablative fractional lasers, may have lasting effects on skin barrier function, dermal collagen metabolism, and local microcirculation, potentially leading to irreversible skin sensitivity, persistent erythema, or occult scar formation (). Although extensive research has been conducted regarding laser therapy for acne scars, the absence of clear overviews of key research trends and clinical evidence directions within this domain hampers researchers’ ability to quickly and accurately understand current trends and identify future research directions. As an important tool for the quantitative analysis of disciplinary development, bibliometrics can reveal the evolution, research hotspots, and frontiers of a specific field through data mining and visualization techniques. In the present study, a WoSCC-based bibliometric analysis of laser therapy for acne scars was performed using software tools such as VOSviewer, R, and CiteSpace to examine research published between 2006 and 2026