The article describes a systematic investigation of the effects of an aqueous NaOH treatmentof 3D printed poly(lactic acid) (PLA) scaffolds for surface activation. The PLA surface undergoesseveral morphology changes and after an initial surface roughening, the surface becomes smootheragain before the material dissolves. Erosion rates and surface morphologies can be controlled by thetreatment. At the same time, the bulk mechanical properties of the treated materials remain unaltered.This indicates that NaOH treatment of 3D printed PLA scaffolds is a simple, yet viable strategy forsurface activation without compromising the mechanical stability of PLA scaffolds.