Study Shows Faster Recovery, Less Pain With 2910-nm Laser

BALTIMORE — A 2910-nm erbium-doped fluoride glass fiber laser, permitted 2 years in the past by the US Meals and Drug Administration, has demonstrated a excessive diploma of enchancment for facial photoaging and rhytides together with comparatively excessive charges of affected person satisfaction — whereas inflicting much less discomfort and downtime in contrast with standard fractional lasers, a small single-center examine confirmed. 

The examine enrolled 15 sufferers who had three remedy periods with the 2910-nm laser. “It is extremely customizable,” the examine’s lead writer, Taryn Murray, MD, a dermatologist at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, instructed Medscape Dermatology. “It has a extremely quick time in therapeutic in comparison with conventional abatable lasers; the therapeutic time is 5 to seven days vs a number of weeks.” Murray introduced the outcomes on the annual assembly of the American Society for Laser Medication and Surgical procedure.

The Know-how Behind the Laser

The 2910-nm erbium-doped fluoride glass fiber laser is a mid-infrared ablative fractional machine that operates at peak water absorption. It is designed to trigger minimal residual thermal injury, leading to much less discomfort, shorter downtime, and probably fewer unintended effects than standard ablative lasers, Murray mentioned. 

Due to the best way the pulses are delivered, “it is much less painful than conventional fractional ablative lasers, so you need to use primarily topical numbing; you do not want nerve blocks, you do not have to infiltrate lidocaine, you do not have to place the affected person beneath anesthesia,” she mentioned.

“Due to the wavelength, how pulses are delivered and the way customizable the settings are, it is safer to make use of in darker pores and skin varieties,” and the density, depth, and the quantity of coagulation utilized into the pores and skin are customizable, Murray added. 

The laser additionally delivers pulses otherwise than the standard 2940-nm erbium and CO₂ lasers, she defined. “Conventional lasers do it multi function pulse. This laser makes use of micropulses with leisure time in between pulses, so the physique interprets it as much less painful and permits strain and steam to flee out of the channel, which ends up in sooner therapeutic.”

The examine sufferers had topical anesthetic cream utilized to their faces 45-60 minutes earlier than the process. A number of passes have been made utilizing each superficial and deep laser modes. The typical affected person age was 65.7 years, and Fitzpatrick pores and skin varieties included I (n = 3), II (n = 3), III (n = 7) and IV (n = 2). On a scale of 0-10, the common degree of discomfort was 4.9, and the common affected person satisfaction after three therapies was 4.8, Murray mentioned.

For beauty enchancment, the examine used the 5-point World Aesthetic Enchancment Scale (GAIS). Blinded reviewers evaluated digital pictures and decided a median GAIS rating of three.2 for general look, 2.9 for wrinkles, 3.6 for pigment, 3.1 for pores and skin texture, and a pair of.6 for pores and skin laxity. 

When the sufferers themselves reviewed the digital pictures, the common GAIS rating was 3.8 for general look. 

Uncomfortable side effects, mentioned Murray, have been transient, with edema and soft-tissue crusting lasting 3-5 days and erythema resolving in 1-2 weeks on common. One case of postinflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) did come up, which was linked to allergic contact dermatitis from the therapeutic ointment. That affected person stayed within the examine and had full decision of the PIH.

Research Stands Out

Quite a lot of research of the 2910-nm erbium-doped fluoride glass fiber laser have emerged over the previous half yr, Ritu Swali, MD, who was an American Society of Dermatologic Surgical procedure fellow at a follow in Houston, Texas, mentioned in an interview on the assembly. However this one stands out due to the proof surrounding its use.

Most individuals are utilizing this laser for facial resurfacing, “and we wish to know that we’ve got a know-how…with shorter downtime and simpler wound care and simply extra consolation,” she mentioned.

She famous that with standard lasers, most sufferers get nerve blocks and a few even go for normal anesthesia. “To have the ability to do the degrees of facial resurfacing [Murray] is doing with out having to do all of that ache administration is fairly wonderful,” Swali added.

The pace of the process and the comparatively quick downtime are additionally noteworthy, she mentioned. “The massive benefit is having a lot much less ache from the process itself, so that you’re in a position to do it sooner as a result of they’re tolerating it so nicely and you are not having to take breaks,” she mentioned. 

As for downtime, Swali added, “these sufferers are coming in on a Thursday and they’re again up and operating by Monday,” versus weeks that’s typical with a standard laser. This laser platform additionally avoids the pigmentation issues that may include persevering with and aggressive remedy with standard lasers, she mentioned. 

Murray disclosed relationships with Acclaro Medical, the producer of the laser. Swali has no relationships to reveal.

Richard Mark Kirkner is a medical journalist primarily based within the Philadelphia space.