Long-Term Assessment of Perioral Rhytide Correction with Erbium: YAG Laser Resurfacing.

BACKGROUND: Use of nonsurgical skin rejuvenation has grown over the past two decades. This has led to an increase in ablative and nonablative resurfacing devices. Moderate to heavy perioral rhytides require an ablative laser to maximize results. Traditionally, this was performed with carbon dioxide lasers; however, more recently, erbium lasers have been used to target heavy rhytides. The purpose of this study was to assess long-term correction of perioral rhytides with the use of the senior author's (A.J.B.) erbium laser resurfacing technique.

METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent perioral erbium laser resurfacing performed by the senior author from 2009 to 2016 with a minimum of 6-month follow-up was performed. Ten blinded nonphysicians and 10 blinded plastic surgeons evaluated the imaging based on a previously established standardized grading sheet, with gradation improvement from 1 to 8. The absolute and percentage improvement were evaluated, along with complications.

RESULTS: Forty-five patients met inclusion criteria, with an average follow-up of 13 months. A statistically significant score improvement of 2.2 gradations was seen, in addition to a significant improvement (from 56 percent to 66 percent). Both the surgeon and nonphysician groups showed improvement, with no differences between the two groups. There were no cases of hypopigmentation at the 6-month postoperative visit.

CONCLUSIONS: Erbium laser resurfacing is a powerful and safe tool for correcting perioral rhytides. It is effective in isolation or with other facial rejuvenation procedures. Erbium laser resurfacing is a useful adjunct in facial rejuvenation that can deliver exceptional results with few complications when performed within the proper guidelines.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.