Retrospective study on the safety and tolerability of clinical treatments with a novel Thermomechanical Ablation device on 150 patients.

Abstract

There are currently not many publications on the safety of thermomechanical ablation (TMA) devices, and those that are published only have small numbers of subjects. This treatment is gaining popularity in Europe and Asia, and thus there is a need to look at the safety of this treatment. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the safety of the clinical use of the novel TMA system (Tixel, Novoxel, Israel) for facial rejuvenation and treatment of acne scars. We did a retrospective review of our first 150 patients who were treated with the TMA device. One hundred and fifty consecutive patients aged 20years to 82years with Fitzpatrick skin types I to V treated with the TMA device were included in this study. The total number of treatment sessions was 327 (average 2.18 treatment per patient). The total number of pulses delivered to these patients was 1 48 856 (average 455 pulses per session). The indications for the treatment were photodamaged skin (n=145) and acne scarring (n=5). All patients were able to use makeup immediately after the treatment at lower settings, thus needing no real recovery time. Patients treated at higher settings were able to use makeup after 2days. There were four reported complications: post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (n=2), impetigo (n=1), and dermatitis (n=1). Using the TMA device in the treatment of photodamage and acne scarring is safe in skin types I to V and has a low incidence of temporary side effects with no permanent side effects.