Topical hydration can reduce thermal damage to skin treated with a plasma skin regeneration (PSR) device, according to a recent study.

The pilot study, published in the online Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, found that topical hydration applied to skin 30 minutes before use of PSR reduces thermal damage.

A research team led by Alicia Sanderson, M.D., of the University of California, Irvine, examined results from facelifts performed using PSR (1.8 J and 3.5 J). The PSR was done after zero, 30 or 60 minutes of topical anesthetic. The skin was fixed for histologic analysis during the facelift. The study involved four patients, with two control patients and four treatment sites per patients.

The researchers used a scoring system for tissue injury, consisting of epidermal injury, presence of vacuolization, blistering, adnexal structure damage and dermal collagen change depth. These were evaluated in more than 1,400 high-power microscopy fields.

“When resurfacing the skin, hydration of the skin with topical anesthetics affects the degree of thermal injury,” Dr. Sanderson tells Cosmetic Surgery Times.

A significant difference was noted in the epidermal injury, average thermal injury score, and depth of thermal damage between controls and 30 minutes of hydration. There was no statistical difference between controls and 60 minutes of hydration and no differences between 30 and 60 minutes of hydration. The study authors also noted epidermal vacuolization at low energy and patchy distribution of thermal injury.

“The data suggest that application of topical anesthetic for a short period of time prior to treatment with the PSR device is cost-effective, safe and may be clinically beneficial,” the authors wrote.

The study was sponsored by the Beckman Laser Institute.