Plasma Device Cuts Downtime After Wrinkle Treatment

PALM DESERT, CALIF. — Performing repeated plasma skin resurfacing at low fluences improves wrinkles and results in much less patient downtime than does the use of higher fluences, Dr. Melissa Bogle reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Many previous case series of plasma skin resurfacing have reported patients undergoing a single treatment with a fluence of 3–4 J/cm

In Dr. Bogle's series, eight patients were treated at fluences of 1.2–1.8 J/cm

The plasma device, the Portrait PSR

Each patient in the series received three full face treatments, one every 3 weeks. Sloughing lasted longer after the first treatment (average 9 days) than after the second and third treatments (4 days).

Erythema persisted for 6 days and tended to be mild. The average erythema score of the patients following a treatment was 1.8 on a 0–4 erythema scale, which Dr. Bogle described as being "between minimal and mild, closer to mild."

Dr. Bogle could not account for why sloughing lasted longer with the first procedure. Some experts now use even lower fluences than she used in her study, and a lower fluence for the first treatment than for the second and third.

The investigators rated the improvement in facial rhytids at 23% after 1 month and 37% after 3 months. Histologic samples taken from the upper lip area of six of the patients before and after treatment showed an increase in collagen thickness at the dermal-epidermal junction and less dense elastin in the collagen zone.

Dr. Bogle received a research grant from Rhytec, the maker of the Portrait device.

PALM DESERT, CALIF. — Performing repeated plasma skin resurfacing at low fluences improves wrinkles and results in much less patient downtime than does the use of higher fluences, Dr. Melissa Bogle reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Many previous case series of plasma skin resurfacing have reported patients undergoing a single treatment with a fluence of 3–4 J/cm

In Dr. Bogle's series, eight patients were treated at fluences of 1.2–1.8 J/cm

The plasma device, the Portrait PSR

Each patient in the series received three full face treatments, one every 3 weeks. Sloughing lasted longer after the first treatment (average 9 days) than after the second and third treatments (4 days).

Erythema persisted for 6 days and tended to be mild. The average erythema score of the patients following a treatment was 1.8 on a 0–4 erythema scale, which Dr. Bogle described as being "between minimal and mild, closer to mild."

Dr. Bogle could not account for why sloughing lasted longer with the first procedure. Some experts now use even lower fluences than she used in her study, and a lower fluence for the first treatment than for the second and third.

The investigators rated the improvement in facial rhytids at 23% after 1 month and 37% after 3 months. Histologic samples taken from the upper lip area of six of the patients before and after treatment showed an increase in collagen thickness at the dermal-epidermal junction and less dense elastin in the collagen zone.

Dr. Bogle received a research grant from Rhytec, the maker of the Portrait device.

PALM DESERT, CALIF. — Performing repeated plasma skin resurfacing at low fluences improves wrinkles and results in much less patient downtime than does the use of higher fluences, Dr. Melissa Bogle reported at the annual meeting of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.

Many previous case series of plasma skin resurfacing have reported patients undergoing a single treatment with a fluence of 3–4 J/cm

In Dr. Bogle's series, eight patients were treated at fluences of 1.2–1.8 J/cm

The plasma device, the Portrait PSR

Each patient in the series received three full face treatments, one every 3 weeks. Sloughing lasted longer after the first treatment (average 9 days) than after the second and third treatments (4 days).

Erythema persisted for 6 days and tended to be mild. The average erythema score of the patients following a treatment was 1.8 on a 0–4 erythema scale, which Dr. Bogle described as being "between minimal and mild, closer to mild."

Dr. Bogle could not account for why sloughing lasted longer with the first procedure. Some experts now use even lower fluences than she used in her study, and a lower fluence for the first treatment than for the second and third.

The investigators rated the improvement in facial rhytids at 23% after 1 month and 37% after 3 months. Histologic samples taken from the upper lip area of six of the patients before and after treatment showed an increase in collagen thickness at the dermal-epidermal junction and less dense elastin in the collagen zone.

Dr. Bogle received a research grant from Rhytec, the maker of the Portrait device.