FRIDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- Transcutaneous focused ultrasound may be a safe non-invasive skin-tightening procedure for Asians, according to a study published in the July issue of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.
Nicola P.Y. Chan, M.B., B.Chir., from the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues investigated the safety of transcutaneous focused ultrasound devices for the treatment of facial skin laxity in 49 Chinese patients. The participants (45 women and four men, with an average age of 53.3 years) received a total of 68 treatment sessions of one to three full-face treatments each. Three transducers of different frequency and focal depths were used to deliver a single pass of microthermal coagulation zones without the use of topical anesthetics. Standardized photographs taken at baseline and at each follow-up were reviewed by two independent physicians. The adverse effects were evaluated up to six months after treatment. Subjective assessments of pain and tolerability were recorded using patient questionnaires.
The investigators identified transient erythema and edema in the majority of the patients, with focal bruising in up to 25 percent of treatment sessions. At one month post-treatment, two cases were identified with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on the forehead, and one patient experienced focal twitching over the lower eyelid, which was found to be clinically consistent with hemifacial spasm, but unrelated to the ultrasound device. Severe pain was reported in 54.4 percent of the treatment sessions.
"Transcutaneous intense focused ultrasound appeared to be safe for non-invasive facial skin tightening in Asians," the authors write.
The transducers used in the study were provided by Ulthera Inc.
Abstract
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