New Technology at Advanced Dermatology

Why you may ask, do we have so much new technology? Here are the most important reasons we purchase new technology:

1. We can have better or safer results with new vs. older technology.
2. Older lasers are no longer supported by companies for service.
3. A new category of laser is introduced which serves a previously unmet need.
4. We want more than one in each category to have technology in each office.

Here are three new technologies that were purchased more recently and more information about them: Sofwave™ uses a tissue tightening device meant to firm and lift lax skin tissue. The reason we purchased this device is that it may address a specific type of skin better than either Thermage®, Ultherapy®, or Pelleve®, our current tissue tightening alternatives.

Sofwave™ uses focused ultrasound energy. This is the same technology as Ultherapy®. However, Sofwave™ excels at a more superficial skin depth of 1.5 mm, whereas the Ultherapy® device is best at a 3-4.5 mm. Why does that matter? Some people need a more deeply penetrating beam because they have thicker or heavier skin. This is also true for Thermage®, which goes deep, but is more diffuse and uses electrical energy (radiofrequency). We have found that Thermage® seems to be best for people with diffusely thicker or heavier skin. Ultherapy® is best for medium thickness, or thicker skin that is more focal (in certain areas). Sofwave™ is best for thinner skin where the underlying tissue is not as much of an issue. It might sound confusing, but there are different levels in your skin, and each one of these devices goes to a specific depth(s), making them effective for different people and sometimes different areas of the same person.

DermaV™ is a combination laser that mainly targets blood vessels. It is similar to the VBeam® (POL or pulsed dye laser) in many ways but has a different wavelength. In addition to that, it has more variable pulse durations – this is the amount of time the laser is on. Sometimes you need a short pulse duration for tiny little vessels, often found diffusely in rosacea. POL has a shorter wavelength, but due to the physics, this can cause bruising, whereas with the DermaV™, it won’t. DermaV™ also has a 1064 laser which is great for larger vessels, reducing the need to use two different lasers when patients have both fine and wide vessels.

Spectra is a new Q-switched laser (our other is the Revlite®). It is more powerful than the Revlite® and has some other differences, but for the most part. both can treat the same things: brown spots (otherwise known as liver spots, or age spots), tattoo removal, and also stubborn types of hyperpigmentation. We wanted to be able to perform Q-switched in both Glencoe and Lincolnshire!

There is another new technology on the market by a company named Cytrellis. Their new device (Just recently FDA approved) is called Ellacor™, and is a micro-coring device. This is an entirely new category of device that removes roughly 8% of the targeted skin surface at once with such small skin cores that stitches are not required; most patients just have a few days of downtime. Micro-coring is for moderate to severe wrinkles or laxity, where a mere tissue tightening procedure may not be enough. The tested section was the submental area, which is an area that is often the focus of patient’s complaints due to an excess of skin that is difficult to improve without surgery. We are considering this purchase, so keep your eyes open if this is a concern for you and/or let us know how you feel about it. Does it interest you?