LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. Plasma skin resurfacing reduces acne scars and fine lines while minimizing downtime and adverse events, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery.
"Plasma skin regeneration provides an effective long-term facial rejuvenation for acne scarring and fine lines," said M. Potter, M.D., of RAFT Institute of Plastic Surgery in London.
The plasma device works by passing ultrahigh energy through nitrogen gas, generating plasma used to treat scars and lines with short pulses.
In this study, Dr. Potter treated a total of 11 patients (10 women)3 for acne scars, 7 for fine lines, and 1 patient for both. The treatment was performed under anesthesia. Energy varied between 1 and 4 J.
All patients were assessed at 10 days and 3 and 6 months post treatment. "A precise measure of skin irregularity was recorded using silicon molds. … Wrinkle depth was assessed using a light microscope technique to give an accurate measurement," Dr. Potter said.
In patients with fine lines, the mean pretreatment wrinkle depth was 0.25 mm. At 10 days, there was a mean improvement in wrinkle depth of 39%. At 6 months, mean improvement was 24%. "Acne is always difficult to treat, but these patients had an improvement of 35% at 10 days and 23% at 6 months," Dr. Potter said.