DALLAS – A picosecond 755-nm laser with focus lens array can serve as a safe, nonsurgical option for neck rejuvenation in patients with Fitzpatrick skin types I-III, especially for those who seek treatments with minimal downtime.

“It’s important to note that response was variable, but many patients were satisfied with the treatment,” Hana Jeon, MD said at the annual conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. “Further studies are needed to identify the clinical characteristics of neck laxity that would most benefit from this treatment.”

A patient before treatment with a picosecond 755-nm laser for neck rejuvenation.

Dr. Jeon, a dermatologist at the Laser & Skin Surgery Center of New York, and her associates examined the safety and efficacy of the treatment of skin laxity on the neck using a picosecond 755-nm laser with focus lens array, which uses a diffractive lens to redistribute the energy at both low- and high-intensity energies. “High-intensity energy leads to cellular changes, which then results in dermal remodeling,” she said. “This technology has been shown to be helpful for acne scar treatment and skin rejuvenation. A big advantage of this technology is that there is really no downtime other than transient erythema. Given that both collagen and elastin have been shown to increase over time after treatment, we decided to evaluate its role in treating neck laxity.”

The researchers enrolled 25 patients with an average age of 58 years. The laser treatment settings were a 6-mm spot side-delivered at a fluence of 0.71 J/cm² in a pulse width of 750 picoseconds. The patients were treated five times on the neck every 2-4 weeks, and follow-up visits were scheduled for 1 month and 3 months after the last treatment. Digital photos were taken at each visit. Formal assessment tools included patient and physician satisfaction scores and the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale. In all, 21 women and 3 men completed the study. The majority (72%) had Fitzpatrick skin type II, while 16% had type III, 8% had type I, and 4% had type IV. An average of 5,042 pulses were delivered during each treatment session. The majority of patients (84%) required no anesthesia, while the rest used topical numbing medicine from 30 minutes to an hour prior to the procedure.

Dr. Jeon reported that the average pain score during the procedure was 4.7 on a 10-point scale. Forced-air cooling was used for comfort, and on average, mild redness following the treatment lasted less than 1 day (a mean of 0.6 days, with a range of 0-5 days). Mild pain also lasted less than 1 day (a mean of 0.1 days, with a range of 0-2 days). No swelling, crusting, bruising, bleeding, infection, blistering, scarring, burn, or dyspigmentation occurred.

The same patient, one month after treatment with a picosecond 755-nm laser for neck rejuvenation.

Analysis of satisfaction scores at 3-month follow-up revealed that 43% of patients and 36% of physicians, respectively, felt “neutral” about the results, 30% and 27%, respectively, reported being “satisfied” with the results, and 13% and 14%, respectively, reported being “extremely satisfied” with the results.

On the Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale at 1 and 3 months, physicians described 43% and 23% of cases, respectively, as “improved,” 17% and 18% of cases as “much improved,” and 4% and 9% of cases as “extremely improved.”

At 3 months, 35% of patients said they would be “somewhat likely” to recommend the procedure, and 30% said they would be “extremely likely” to recommend it.

Dr. Jeon reported having no financial disclosures.

dbrunk@mdedge.com

Picosecond 755-nm laser found effective for neck rejuvenation