Clinical utility of the 2-line high-intensity focused ultrasound for skin tightening in Republic of Korea: retrospective clinical study

Sang Hun Kim; Seo Koo Lee; Han Gyu Cha; Eun Soo Park

doi:10.25289/ML.22.051

Med Lasers 2023; 12(1): 29-33 https://doi.org/10.25289/ML.22.051

Clinical utility of the 2-line high-intensity focused ultrasound for skin tightening in Republic of Korea: retrospective clinical study

Sang Hun Kim, Seo Koo Lee, Han Gyu Cha, Eun Soo Park

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Bucheon, Republic of Korea

Correspondence to: Eun Soo Park
E-mail: peunsoo@schmc.ac.kr
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2966-9122

Received: October 14, 2022; Accepted: November 29, 2022; Published online: March 31, 2023.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract: Background and Objectives: High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is a widely used procedure for skin rejuvenation because it targets only the superficial musculoaponeurotic system layer with coagulated thermal energy. However, its long procedure time is inconvenient for both the patient and the operator. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effects of 2-line HIFU.
Materials and Methods: Between August 2021 and September 2022, patients with sagging and loose facial skin were treated with a 2-line HIFU (10thera^®) following the manufacturer’s recommended protocol. We evaluated patients using an automatic skin diagnosis system at the pretreatment stage and about three months after treatment.
Results: All patients were treated using the 2-line HIFU. Five patients were lost to follow-up. The median procedure time was 14 minutes. The mean skin grade was 17 at pretreatment and 14 at posttreatment, showing a significant (p < 0.01) difference between the two.
Conclusion: This study suggests that the 2-line HIFU can improve wrinkling and sagging of an aging face. It is believed that the shortened treatment time would improve the satisfaction levels of both the operator and the patient.; Keywords: Rejuvenation; High-intensity focused ultrasound; Skin aging