Background and Objectives: Energy-based devices have been widely applied for skin ablation. A novel ablation technique based on thermomechanical principles (Tixel©) has been recently developed. The aim of this study was to examine the wound-healing process and clinical aspects after thermomechanical skin ablation.
Study Design/Materials and Methods: Six female participants were treated with Tixel© on healthy skin of the dorsal side of the right forearm in a single session with a 600 µm protrusion and 12 milliseconds pulse. The treated area was examined with confocal laser scanning microscopy on day 1, 2, 7, and 14 after treatment. Clinical symptoms were evaluated at the same time-points.
Results: All patients developed erythema and mild edema on the treated areas, which completely disappeared within 14 days. No post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation or scarring was observed. Thermomechanical skin ablation resulted in the formation of homogeneous micro-ablation zones. Two weeks after ablation, the honeycomb patterns of the epidermis in all examined layers was thoroughly restored. Thus, wound-healing was completed.
Conclusions: Wound healing after thermomechanical skin ablation is much faster compared with other fractionated ablation methods. Treatment intervals of 2–4 weeks could be recommended.
