Treatment Indications of Carbon Solution-Assisted Nd: YAG Laser According to Patient Satisfaction: A Retrospective Study.

INTRODUCTION: Carbon solution-assisted Nd:YAG lasers were previously used in enlarged pores; hair removal; acne and acne scars; and facial rejuvenation. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to determine the patient satisfaction for different treatment indications of carbon solution-assisted 1064 nm Nd:YAG lasers. METHODS: This is a retrospective study that included the patients who were treated with carbon solution-assisted 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with any indication in a private dermatology practice. A pre-prepared carbon solution was applied 30 minutes before the laser treatment with the following parameters: a spot size of 8mm, fluence of 1.3 J/cm2 and a frequency of 8Hz. Patient satisfaction was assessed with GAIS. RESULTS: A total of 272 patients were included; of these 70 patients had acne lesions, 135 patients had melasma, 27 patients had post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, 17 patients had ephelides and 23 patients had solar lentigines. The mean patient satisfaction for solar lentigo patients (4.35/5) was greater than for that of acne patients (4.26/5) which was greater than that of ephelide patients (3.94/5) which was greater than that of melasma patients (3.67/5) which was greater than that of post inflammatory hyperpigmentation patients (2.30/5) CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that carbon solution-assisted 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser therapy is effective in the treatment of solar lentigo, acne vulgaris, ephelides and melasma. However, it fails to provide therapeutic efficacy in post inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Thread lifting: Does patient satisfaction change according to age, type of threads used, number of threads used and treatment area?

BACKGROUND: Aging is an inevitable process. Eyebrows, cheeks, mandible, and neck are the areas that are the most vulnerable to the aging process. The most commonly thread lifted areas of the face are the jawline, midface, eyebrows, and the neck. PATIENTS AND METHOD: In this retrospective study, patients who were treated with thread-lifting between January 2018 and April 2020 were evaluated and the following were noted: the age and gender of the patient; the type of thread used; number of threads used; treatment area; patient satisfaction; and complications. The effects of age, type of thread used, number of threads used, and treatment area on patient satisfaction were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The relationship between age and patient satisfaction is statistically insignificant, p = 0.697. The relationship between patient satisfaction and the type of the thread used was insignificant, p = 0.533. There is no relationship between the number of threads used and patient satisfaction, p = 0.783. There is no difference in patient satisfaction between treatment areas, p = 0.930. The most commonly observed complications were edema, pain, and ecchymosis. CONCLUSION: We report that the patient satisfaction in thread-lifting is independent of the patient's age, treatment area, type of thread used, and the number of threads used. Our study is novel as it is the first study to report that the age of the patient and the thread type do not effect patient satisfaction.

A retrospective analysis of the uses of BoNT-A in daily dermatological practice.

INTRODUCTION: Botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) has been increasingly used in the cosmetic dermatology daily routine. The treatment areas of BoNT-A are glabellar lines, forehead wrinkles, periorbital lines (crow's feet), eyebrow lifting, perioral lines, platysmal bands, masseter hypertrophy, and hyperhidrosis. The aim of this study was to reveal the epidemiologic characteristics of the patients treated with BoNT-A and the frequencies of treatment areas. PATIENT AND METHODS: The patients were grouped into five categories: facial wrinkles, platysmal bands, masseter hypertrophy, axillary hyperhidrosis, and palmoplantar hyperhidrosis. Each patient received either onabotulinum toxin-A (diluted with 2 cc saline) or abobotulinum toxin-A (diluted with 3 cc saline) treatment. The patients' age, gender, and the total numbers of treatment received in each area were noted. SPSS version 21 was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1614 patients were included: 165 (6.5%) male and 1509 (93.5%) female. There is no difference between genders in terms of treatment area (p = 0.855). The number of treatment sessions is independent of the patients' gender (p = 0.703). The mean age of the patients was 46.6 years. There is a relationship between the patients' age and treatment area (sig 0.000). There is no relationship between the number of repetitive treatments and the patients' age (p=0.081). The number of repetitive treatments is dependent to the treatment area (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Facial wrinkles, platysmal bands, and masseter hypertrophy are the most commonly treated areas. The treatment area is dependent on the age as platysmal bands are more commonly treated in older patients; however, no relationship between gender and treatment area was found. BoNT-A treatment for hyperhidrosis is not as commonly repeated as for that of cosmetic concerns.

Focused radiofrequency and ultrasound for face and neck rejuvenation: A retrospective evaluation of 158 patients.

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency is a commonly used method to non-invasively tighten the skin that can be safely applied to any skin type. AIMS: The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the focused radiofrequency and ultrasound hybrid device for face and neck rejuvenation, in terms of improvement of facial wrinkles and jaw sagging. METHODS: A total of 158 patients had undergone four weekly sessions of focused radiofrequency and ultrasound to face and neck area. Photodocumentation was obtained before first visit and two weeks after last visit. An independent, blinded dermatologist evaluated the severity of wrinkles and sagging of seven different anatomical regions on a validated scale of 0-4 (0: no lines/sagging, 1: mild, 2: moderate, 3: severe, 4: very severe) before and after the procedure. Patients rated their satisfaction with the result of the treatment on a scale of 1-5 (1: dissatisfied, 2: poorly satisfied 3: satisfied, 4: very satisfied, 5: perfectly satisfied). RESULTS: For seven anatomical regions, statistically significant reduction was observed in mean wrinkle/sagging scores (p = < 0.001). Patients were satisfied with the effects of the procedure, with a mean satisfaction score of 4.61 ± 0.55. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that combined focused radiofrequency and ultrasound is an effective and safe method for the rejuvenation of different sub-areas of the face and neck with high patient satisfaction scores.

Efficacy of focused radiofrequency with ultrasound in body contouring: A study of 64 patients.

BACKGROUND: Energy-based devices are increasingly used for noninvasive body contouring. Our aim was to investigate the clinical efficacy of combined radiofrequency and ultrasound device for reduction in body circumference in various body parts. AIMS: The aim of our study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of combined focused radiofrequency and ultrasound device for reduction in body circumference in various body parts. We aimed to report objective measurements in terms of circumference reduction and patient satisfaction scores. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed data of 64 patients who were treated with focused radiofrequency and ultrasound device during August 2017-December 2019. All patients had received 4 sessions at one-week interval. Body circumference measurements were done before treatment and one month after the last session. Patients were also asked to score their satisfaction with the result of treatment on a scale of 1 to 5. RESULTS: Abdomen was treated in 40 patients, thighs in 18 patients, and arms in 7 patients. One patient had received treatments to both abdomen and thighs. Circumference measurements in all body parts differed significantly between baseline and one month after the 4th session. Patients were satisfied with the result of treatment (score: 4.48 ± 0.66). No adverse events were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Focused radiofrequency and ultrasound combination is a safe and effective treatment modality for body contouring. Patients should be informed about moderate degrees of improvement.