How a combined use of stem cells and laser technologies for face and neck rejuvenation can reduce patients’request for surgical correction

Background: The use of regenerative medicine-based approaches for non surgical facial rejuvenation is an emergent trend and many autologous treatments have been proposed with different degrees of invasiveness and results (1,2)

Recently this author presented the first clinical report of a new concept for face and neck rejuvenation: a combined use of stem cells and two laser technologies, the wavelength 1450 nm for micro coagulation and the wavelength 980 for stimulation the production of neo- collagen and elastin (3)

Objective: Objective of this new report was to verify if the results obtained with this technique can modify patients’ requests for additional surgical corrections.

Methods: We treated 450 patients with mild to high overall cutaneous photodamage and in particular with mild to severe degrees of upper eyelid dermatochalasis and of periorbital rhytides and with mild to severe skin laxity and horizontal skin wrinkles of the neck.

Patients received 4 successive laser treatments and stem cells applications at 3 weeks intervals. Clinical improvement of treatment areas was determined by comparative analysis of photographs at baseline and 1, 6, 12 and 24 months post treatment. At each time a specific skin software allows to evaluate wrinkles density, skin dark and light, spot density etc. Skin elasticity measurements were obtained with a cutometer and general patient satisfaction surveys were also obtained at each follow-up visit.

Further specific surveys were carried out at each time to monitor the patients’ request for additional surgical correction.

Results: A greater than 85% clinical improvement in photodamage at different months follow-ups was achieved in nearly 95% patients, confirming previous data.

Patients also reported a statistically significant reduction of periocular wrinkles (85%) and dermatochalasis (80%), a statistically significant reduction of the horizontal neck wrinkles (90%) and an improvement of the skin laxity (80%) with stable results over time and a very high patient satisfaction rate.

The percentage of patients considering additional surgical correction dropped from 40 % pre treatment to 4 % post treatment.

No down time and no side effects were reported.

Conclusions: This study confirmed the great effectiveness of this new regenerative medicine technique for the rejuvenation of face and the neck with a great patient satisfaction rate and a significant reduction in the patients’ request for additional surgical correction.