Retrospective study on the safety and tolerability of clinical treatments with a novel Thermomechanical Ablation device on 150 patients

INTRODUCTION

There are currently not many publications on the safety of thermomechanical ablation (TMA) devices, and those that are published only have small numbers of subjects. This treatment is gaining popularity in Europe and Asia, and thus there is a need to look at the safety of this treatment.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the safety of the clinical use of the novel TMA system (Tixel, Novoxel, Israel) for facial rejuvenation and treatment of acne scars.

METHODS

We did a retrospective review of our first 150 patients who were treated with the TMA device.

RESULTS

One hundred and fifty consecutive patients aged 20 years to 82 years with Fitzpatrick skin types I to V treated with the TMA device were included in this study. The total number of treatment sessions was 327 (average 2.18 treatment per patient). The total number of pulses delivered to these patients was 1 48 856 (average 455 pulses per session). The indications for the treatment were photodamaged skin (n=145) and acne scarring (n=5). All patients were able to use makeup immediately after the treatment at lower settings, thus needing no real recovery time. Patients treated at higher settings were able to use makeup after 2 days. There were four reported complications: post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (n=2), impetigo (n=1), and dermatitis (n=1).

CONCLUSIONS

Using the TMA device in the treatment of photodamage and acne scarring is safe in skin types I to V and has a low incidence of temporary side effects with no permanent side effects.

[Management of targeted molecular therapies toxicities in thoracic cancerology]

Targeted molecular therapies, mainly enzyme inhibitors and humanized antibodies, are being widely developed, especially in the area of lung cancer. Though often considered to be better tolerated than conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies, targeted molecular therapies induce specific toxicities that may have detrimental effects on the quality of life. We sum up various toxicities from targeted treatment available for lung cancer in France with the aim of improving their prevention, diagnosis and management.