Cutaneous
scars develop as a result of a defective wound healing process.
Scars are commonly visible as erythematous, sometimes disfiguring lesions which might be stigmatizing for the affected patient. Only a few
therapies to improve the appearance of
scars are available. Recently,
brimonidine - a selective α2-receptor-agonist which causes vasoconstriction of small cutaneous vessels - was approved for the treatment of erythemato-telangiectatic
rosacea. Topical
brimonidine might also be helpful to improve redness of immature
scars. Here we report on the effect of
brimonidine 0.5% gel on a flat, erythematous
scar in a 25-year-old female patient. Whitening of the
scar could be observed immediately after application of
brimonidine 0.5% gel and a good clinical result was observed within one hour. This effect lasted for up to three hours. We conclude that
brimonidine 0.5% gel is a suitable topical
therapy to reduce
erythema in visible cutaneous
scars.