Plasma Radiofrequency Ablation for Scar Treatment

Abstract

Scars are a common disfiguring sequela of various events such as acne, hidradenitis suppurativa, surgery, trauma, and burns, which can lead to serious psychosocial problems with a negative effect on the quality of life. Many conventional approaches have been proposed for the treatment of scars, including surgical techniques, dermabrasion, chemical peels, topical silicone gel, 5-fluorouracile and dermal fillers injection or autologous fat transfer for atrophic scars, and corticosteroids injection for hypertrophic and keloid scars; however, they have sporadic effects. Ablative lasers, such as carbon dioxide laser or Erbium Yag laser, are associated with many collateral effects limiting their application. Non-ablative laser treatments have been shown to be safer and to have fewer side effects, but they have a reduction of clinical efficacy compared to ablative lasers and a minimal improvement of scars. The demand for minimal invasive and safe technology for the treatment of a scars has stimulated the search for more effective novel therapy with fewer collateral effects. Plasma radiofrequency ablation is a new technique consisting of the generation of plasma energy through the production of ionized energy, which thermally heats tissue in a uniform and controlled manner, through a plasma radiofrequency device, inducing a sublimation of the tissue. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of P-RF ablation in the treatment of scars performed with D.A.S. Medical device (Technolux, Italia), which is a tool working with the long-wave plasma radiofrequency principle.