Contractubex showed best results in the prevention of pathological scars .
BACKGROUND The treatment and prevention of  hypertrophic scars and keloids  represents a special challenge particularly in plastic surgery .
Given their simple , non-invasive and painless application , topical preparations are an attractive therapeutic option .
On the part of the patients , the efficacy in prevention of and therapy for hypertrophic scars and keloids of these topical preparations is regularly question ed .
The clarification of this issue is subject of this review .
Effects of petrolatum on stratum corneum structure and function.
BACKGROUND Ointments ( e.g. , petrolatum ) are thought to be occlusive , thereby blocking transcutaneous water loss and trapping water under the skin 's surface . If this premise is correct , then petrolatum should delay barrier recovery after barrier perturbation , as shown previously in occluded murine skin . OBJECTIVE We reexamined the assumption that Vaseline Petroleum Jelly ( VPJ ) is occlusive , ascertaining both its site and mechanism of action . METHODS Barrier recovery was measured in VPJ-treated versus untreated sites after acetone-induced barrier disruption in human volunteers . Moreover , VPJ was localized within the stratum corneum ( SC ) with tracers and ruthenium tetroxide staining , which allowed visualization of the depth of VPJ penetration and its relation to intercellular membrane structures . RESULTS VPJ accelerated , rather than impeded , barrier recovery . Moreover , VPJ was present within the interstices at all levels of the SC , where it replaced intercellular bilayers . CONCLUSION VPJ neither forms nor acts like an epicutaneous impermeable membrane ; instead , it permeates throughout the SC interstices , allowing normal barrier recovery despite its occlusive properties
Contractubex showed best results in the prevention of pathological scars .
BACKGROUND The treatment and prevention of  hypertrophic scars and keloids  represents a special challenge particularly in plastic surgery .
Given their simple , non-invasive and painless application , topical preparations are an attractive therapeutic option .
On the part of the patients , the efficacy in prevention of and therapy for hypertrophic scars and keloids of these topical preparations is regularly question ed .
The clarification of this issue is subject of this review .