NEW ORLEANS, Mar 25 (Reuters Health) -- A new technique in which a fine mist of aluminum oxide crystals is used to polish superficial layers of the skin may become another popular treatment for sun and age-damaged skin.
The microabrasion, which is done using a handpiece that is passed over the skin creating shallow injury, produces results that are "at least as good as anything else we use for superficial peels and in many cases, they're as good as we would get with medium depth peels as well," Dr. Mark Rubin, assistant clinical professor of dermatology, University of California, San Diego, told Reuters Health in an interview.
Patient satisfaction with results has also been "by far the highest for any type of peeling procedure we have done," according to Rubin, who reported here at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting on his experience using microabrasion.
No anesthesia is required, and while patients may develop mild redness following the procedure, they can resume activities shortly after treatment.
There is essentially no downtime with superficial microabrasion, said Rubin, "and the skin feels smooth immediately (because) all the dead skin is gone."
In contrast, chemical peels only burn tissue at the time of treatment, and patients need to wait for several days for the skin to flake and peel off. Injury with microabrasion is superficial, Rubin explained, "so in most situations, people will need a repetitive series of treatments, usually about five or six in all, separated by 1 to 2 weeks in between, to achieve the best results."
However, by exposing patients to a series of superficial abrasions, skin texture, uneven pigmentation, fine lines and scars are gradually improved. Microabrasion also stimulates new cell growth, which contribute to smoother, plumper skin. However, he added, microabrasion is not going to replace the more aggressive laser treatment aimed at rejuvenating severely damaged skin, Rubin added.
"The ability to create controlled superficial removal of skin allows each patient to receive a custom treatment that is deeper in areas of more severe damage," Rubin said, "and this is similar in concept to that seen with the erbium laser."
Like laser treatment, deeper wounds produced by microabrasion would take approximately 7 to 10 days before redness and swelling disappear and the skin is healed.
