A novel non-invasive radiofrequency dermal heating device for skin tightening of the face and neck.
Introduction
As we age, our collagen and elastic tissue degrade, resulting in excess, loose skin; this is often one of the first signs of facial aging. As a result, surgical rhytidectomy (facelifts) remains a common surgical procedure to help reverse this aging process, with 133,320 facelift procedures performed in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (1). While facelifts remain an extremely effective method to reduce static rhytids, there has been a dramatic paradigm shift toward non-surgical skin tightening and rejuvenation techniques, as patients seek to achieve skin tightening with no or minimal downtime procedures. In 2013, 293,388 non-surgical skin tightening procedures and 456,613 photorejuvenation procedures were performed, a much higher volume than traditional surgical facelifts, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (2). While many technologies including infrared lasers, intense pulsed light devices, and resurfacing lasers have been utilized to heat the deep dermis, thereby resulting in skin tightening, the results have typically been modest (3 – 5). Recently, intense focused ultrasound has been proposed as a potential option for skin tightening; however, these treatments are associated with pain and downtime (6). An ideal skin tightening treatment would be effi cacious, pain free, require no anesthesia, and result in no downtime. Radiofrequency (RF) technology represents a potentially promising option for non-invasive skin tightening to achieve these ideals. RF devices utilize electrical conductance, in the form of rapidly alternating electrical current (various frequencies can be utilized, but they are typically greater than 1,000,000 cycles per second), to cause oscillation of cellular
ANDREW A. NELSON 1 , DAVID BEYNET 2 & GARY P. LASK 2
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