Clinical and Experimental Dermatology August 02-03, 2019 Chicago, USA

Jongeun Lee graduated from School of Medicine at Kyoungpook National University and is currently a dermatology resident in Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.

Intramuscular injection of botulinum toxin A (BTXA) is commonly used for the treatment of forehead wrinkles. In practice, physicians often use an intradermal injection for this purpose, as they feel that there is a lower risk of adverse effects compared with intramuscular injection. Many physicians claim that there are no significant differences in anti-wrinkle efficacy on the forehead between intramuscular (IM) and intradermal (ID) injections. However, there are no direct comparative studies between those two injection modalities. We conducted a 24-week long, double-blinded, split-face, pilot study of three participants to compare the efficacy and safety of intradermal or intramuscular injection of BTXA for the treatment of forehead wrinkles. A maximum improvement of wrinkles and the time to achieve maximum effect were similar for both methods. The brow level was lower on the intramuscular injection side throughout the follow-up period for all participants. Subjective satisfaction with wrinkles was similar on both sides, but patients felt more heaviness of the eyebrow on the intramuscular side. No serious side effects were noted. In conclusion, the anti-wrinkle effect of BTXA was not significantly different between intramuscular and intradermal injections. However, side effects such as eyebrow ptosis, and heaviness were more prominent after intramuscular injection. This study is the first study that directly compares the effect of IM and ID BTXA on forehead wrinkles.

YoungHwan Choi graduated Sungkyunkwan University, School of Medicine and got a medical license. He is a dermatology resident at Samsung medical center, Seoul, Korea.

Non-invasive lipolysis procedures using highly-focused ultrasound (HIFU) became popular recently. This study evaluated therapeutic efficacy and adverse effects of HIFU lipolysis on body contouring in Korean patients. Baseline characteristics of patients were documented before treatment. Subjects were treated one time at the baseline using HIFU on their abdomen, thighs, or both. The circumferences were measured at the baseline, 1, 2, 3, and 12 months after the treatment. Adverse effects during and after the treatment were recorded at every visit. Twenty-six out of 50 subjects who were initially enrolled in the study completed 1, 2, and 3-month follow-ups, while 24 subjects completed 12-month follow-ups. A statistically significant circumference reduction was observed in the abdomen and/or thigh treatment group after 1 month and maintained for 12 months. Only seven subjects experienced slight circumference increase during the follow-up period. In conclusion, non-invasive HIFU lipolysis was effective for abdominal or thigh circumference reduction in Korean. Moreover, only one treatment session was enough to maintain a therapeutic effect for atleast 12 months.