LAS VEGASFine wrinkling of the eyelids seemed to respond "quite nicely" to fractional laser resurfacing with a specially designed tip, Dr. Brian S. Biesman said at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology and Aesthetic Surgery.
The new 0.25-cm
This innovative approach is "not quite" a lunchtime procedure, requiring an hour for topical anesthetic application prior to each of four sessions and several days of downtime while swelling and erythema subside, he said.
The preliminary results, however, have been "very impressive," Dr. Biesman said following the meeting.
In his study, Dr. Biesman enrolled 20 patients, aged 3870 years (average age 49), to receive four treatments at intervals of 928 days (average interval 14 days). At the time of his meeting presentation, 15 of the 20 patients had completed all four sessions and a 1-month follow-up was available on nine patients. Preliminary results suggest that patients tolerated the procedure well, despite mild to moderate erythema and edema lasting 34 days.
"Patients typically returned to their activities in 23 days," he said.
For the first patients to complete the treatment and follow-up, improvements in texture and the appearance of wrinkling were rated 2.14 and 1.74, respectively, on a 04 scale. Dr. Biesman emphasized that not all patients in the study have completed the follow-up examinations.
"There's definitely something there," he said in an interview. "We're not seeing any regression [in improvement] over time."
Dr. Biesman disclosed that he has received grant and research support from, and is a paid consultant to, Reliant Technologies, manufacturer of the Fraxel laser.