Significant skin-tightening by closure of fractional ablative laser holes

Harnessing Non-Thermal Plasma to Supercharge Recovery in Abdominal Surgeries: A Pilot Study

(1) Background: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of non-thermal plasma (NTP) therapy in accelerating wound healing in patients who have undergone laparoscopic and open surgeries. (2) Methods: NTP was applied using a needle-type reactor with an irradiance of 0.5 W/cm2 on the surgical wounds of fifty patients after obtaining informed consent. Three NTP treatments, each lasting three minutes, were administered hourly. (3) Results: The pilot study showed that NTP-treated surgical wounds healed completely without any signs of infection, dehiscence, pain, or itching. Notably, patients reported minimal pain after the NTP treatment. Visual assessments conducted twenty-four hours after surgery revealed no redness or fluid discharge. Comparisons with traditionally sutured wounds indicated that NTP-treated wounds healed at a rate equivalent to seven days. (4) Conclusions: The application of NTP in laparoscopic and open wounds proved safe and effective, expediting the wound healing process and eliminating clinical risks post-surgery. Significantly, NTP facilitated a healing rate within twenty-four hours, equivalent to seven days for suture-treated wounds, significantly reducing the hospitalization time to a single day. These findings highlight the potential of NTP to be a transformative approach for promoting postoperative recovery.

Investigation of laser pulsing parameters' importance in Er:YAG laser skin ablation: a theoretical study conducted via newly developed thermo-mechanical ablation model

Objective: Importance of laser pulsing parameters and tissue's mechanical properties in the Er:YAG laser skin-tissue ablation is not adequately understood. The goal here was to develop a computational model that incorporates skin tissue's mechanical properties to investigate the influence of Er:YAG laser pulsing parameters on tissue ablation and coagulation. Methods: Tissue's mechanical properties were incorporated by modeling ablation as a tissue water vaporization occurring under elevated pressures that depend on tissue's stress-strain relationships. Tissue deformation was assumed unidirectional; therefore, a one-dimensional model was utilized. Analytical solution and experimental results were used to verify and validate the model. Then, influence of pulse duration (10 µs-2 ms) and fluence (0-30 J cm^-2) on coagulation depth and ablation efficiency was explored. Results: Verification and validation results suggested that the model is acceptably accurate. Minimal effect of pulse duration on coagulation depth was predicted at sub-ablative conditions. At those conditions, coagulation depth increased asymptotically to ∼90 µm with increasing pulse fluence. At ablative conditions, coagulation depth decreased asymptotically to 22-28 µm with increasing pulse irradiance. Ablation efficiency plateaued at high pulse fluences and long pulse durations. Mechanical properties were important as about 50% increase in coagulation depth and 25% decrease in ablation efficiency were predicted when considering the high strain-rate loading effect in comparison with quasi-static loading. Conclusions: Proper tuning of Er:YAG laser pulsing parameters can substantially improve its therapeutic outcomes. The effect of these parameters varies and depends on whether the laser-tissue conditions are ablative or sub-ablative.

Quantitative evaluation of collagen and elastic fibers after intense pulsed light treatment of mouse skin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The aging of human skin includes intrinsic aging and photo-aging, which are characterized by a decrease in collagen and the deposition of abnormal elastic fibers. Intense pulsed light (IPL) sources are widely used in medicine to treat various cosmetic problems, including photo-damaged skin. Few studies have examined the microscopic changes produced by IPL. The objective of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the effects of IPL on collagen and elastic fibers in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty female BALB/c mice were divided into four subgroups. Group 1 was the control group (n = 10), and groups 2, 3, and 4 were treatment groups (n = 10 in each group). Group 2 received one treatment, group 3 received two treatments, and group 4 received three treatments every 2 weeks. Skin tissue was obtained from irradiated areas 24 hours after the last treatment in each mouse. Collagen fibers were identified using the picrosirius red method. Elastic fibers were marked by Weigert-oxone stain. All samples were analyzed and quantified by a light microscope using analyzer system images.

RESULTS

Group 4, which received three IPL treatments, showed significant quantitative increases in both collagen fibers (P < 0.05) and elastic fibers (P < 0.01). Collagen fibers demonstrated a better parallel distribution in relation to the epidermis.

CONCLUSION

IPL treatment significantly increased the number of collagen and elastic fibers within the dermis and improved the parallel distribution of collagen fibers in relation to the epidermis. These results were evident after three IPL treatments. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.