A10. Advantages of electrosurgical resurfacing (24 years' experience)

Since 1932, electrosurgical resurfacing for the treatment of scarring disorders and the removal of wrinkles has been successfully carried out on tens of thousands of patients in the Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery Centre in Leningrad . My aim is to share my own work experience of 24 years; I have performed more than 10 000 electrosurgical resurfacing procedures. Electroresurfacing is essentially a superficial skin resurfacing to the reticular layer. It is performed with special AC/DC apparatus and thermocautery, designed by a dermatologist from Leningrad. The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, under local (EMLA cream) or intravenous anaesthesia. After the procedure, which takes 5, 10 or 15 min (depending on the area involved), the patient is discharged. It is not recommend that full face resurfacing is performed in one single session. It is better to have one half of face treated during the first session, allow seven days for healing, and then perform the second session. Two to three weeks are therefore needed for a full face resurfacing. The skin is red for up to 10 days following the procedure, however the redness fades after a few weeks. New skin is regenerated, providing a fresher, smoother appearance with total disappearance of mild and moderate wrinkling. In the case of full face resurfacing, there is a significant ‘lifting’ effect. Electrosurgical resurfacing is 80–100% effective for at least 5?10 years. It can be easily performed in any location, if required, as the advantages are obvious. First, there is no possibility of infection. The second advantage is that the equipment is portable, light (0.5–1 kg depending on the transformer), easy to use, and inexpensive. Contraindications are acute inflammatory and contagious skin diseases, as well as severe psychosomatic diseases. Overzealous coagulation may cause depigmentation, edge pigmentation and keloid scars, and therefore it is very important to ensure that coagulation is at the right strength. Based on the overwhelming experience of myself and my teachers, electrosurgical resurfacing has proved to be an excellent method for removing fine lines and wrinkles and for the correction of scars. Simplicity, a high degree of effectiveness, and a low incidence of complications make this method very attractive.