Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The aims of this case report study was to investigate the effect of both ablative and non-ablative laser sources in the restoration of the epidermal profile with split-face confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) evaluation. METHODS: A patient was treated with a standard laser treatment that use simultaneously both ablative and non-ablative sources in split face mode; one side with CO(2) alone and the other with the combined use of CO(2) and a 1540 nm emission. LC-OCT imaging was carried out before the procedure (T0), at 24 hours (T1), and at 7 days (T7). RESULTS: In the CO(2) + 1540 nm modality, the general appearance was comparable to the CO₂-only side. At T7, the CO(2)-only side demonstrated substantial clinical recovery, while the combined CO(2) + 1540 nm side shows faster re-epithelialization. This split-face LC-OCT evaluation highlights that both treatment modalities induce comparable early inflammatory changes.