The clinical experience and efficacy of bipolar radiofrequency with fractional photothermolysis for aged Asian skin.

Abstract

Bipolar radiofrequency (RF) technology is developed based on fractional thermolysis, and the literature concerning the efficacy of the rejuvenation and treatment of acne scars has been reported in Europe and the United States of America. Therefore, we examined bipolar RF treatment using fractional thermolysis to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the treatment of Asian photo-aging skin, particularly 'wrinkles' and 'sagging.' Ten Japanese women (mean age: 58.6, skin type III-IV) received three fractional bipolar RF treatments every 4-6weeks. For the objective evaluation, we evaluated the improvement of the wrinkles on the forehead, lateral canthus (crow's feet) and lower eyelid, and the sagging of the nasolabial fold using digital photographs captured using Visia(™) . For the subjective evaluation, the participants were asked to describe the improvements observed in the wrinkles on the forehead, lateral canthus (crow's feet) and lower eyelid, and sagging nasolabial fold and to evaluate the level pain experienced using a 10-point VAS score. The objective evaluation in each category showed significant improvements in the wrinkles on the lateral canthus (crow's feet) and lower eyelid. As for the nasolabial fold, 60% of the subjects showed improvements, scoring from good to excellent (51-100% improvement), although there was a little improvement of the wrinkle on the forehead. Similar improvements were observed in the subjective evaluation. During each treatment, oedema and erythema were observed in all participants, but the oedema disappeared the following day in all cases. However, mild erythema persisted for an average of 3.1days. Micro debris disappeared after an average of 5.2days. The participants were satisfied, as we allowed them to apply make-up the next day. There were no other severe adverse reactions observed during the treatment. The 10-point VAS score was 3.8, and no participants dropped out due to discomfort. Little improvement was observed in the forehead wrinkles in either the objective or the subjective evaluation. The results obtained in this study indicate that fractional bipolar RF is an effective and safe treatment for the 'wrinkling' and 'sagging' of Asian photo-aging skin.