Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study

Background: There is a growing trend for patients to seek the least invasive treatments with less risk of complications and downtime for facial rejuvenation. Thread embedding acupuncture has become popular as a minimally invasive treatment. However, there is little clinical evidence in the literatur...

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Main Authors: Younghee Yun, Inhwa Choi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2017-12-01
Series:Integrative Medicine Research
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213422017301270
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author Younghee Yun
Inhwa Choi
author_facet Younghee Yun
Inhwa Choi
author_sort Younghee Yun
collection DOAJ
description Background: There is a growing trend for patients to seek the least invasive treatments with less risk of complications and downtime for facial rejuvenation. Thread embedding acupuncture has become popular as a minimally invasive treatment. However, there is little clinical evidence in the literature regarding its effects. Methods: This single-arm, prospective, open-label study recruited participants who were women aged 40â59 years, with Glogau photoaging scale IIIâIV. Fourteen participants received thread embedding acupuncture one time and were measured before and after 1 week from the procedure. The primary outcome was a jowl to subnasale vertical distance. The secondary outcomes were facial wrinkle distances, global esthetic improvement scale, AlexiadesâArmenakas laxity scale, and patient-oriented self-assessment scale. Results: Fourteen participants underwent thread embedding acupuncture alone, and 12 participants revisited for follow-up outcome measures. For the primary outcome measure, both jowls were elevated in vertical height by 1.87 mm (left) and 1.43 mm (right). Distances of both melolabial and nasolabial folds showed significant improvement. In the AlexiadesâArmenakas laxity scale, each evaluator evaluated for four and nine participants by 0.5 grades improved. In the global aesthetic improvement scale, improvement was graded as 1 and 2 in nine and five cases, respectively. The most common adverse events were mild bruising, swelling, and pain. However, adverse events occurred, although mostly minor and of short duration. Conclusion: In this study, thread embedding acupuncture showed clinical potential for facial wrinkles and laxity. However, further large-scale trials with a controlled design and objective measurements are needed. Keywords: polydioxanone, rejuvenation, rhytidoplasty, skin aging, thread embedding acupuncture
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spelling doaj-art-63c50d461fc9499b830d56aa50c7dde52025-08-20T03:19:32ZengElsevierIntegrative Medicine Research2213-42202017-12-016441842610.1016/j.imr.2017.09.002Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label studyYounghee Yun0Inhwa Choi1Chung-Yeon Medical Institute, CY Co. Ltd, Seoul, Korea; Corresponding author. Chung-Yeon Medical Institute, CY Co. Ltd, Seoul, Republic of Korea.Department of Ophthalmology, Otorhinolaryngology and Dermatology of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, KoreaBackground: There is a growing trend for patients to seek the least invasive treatments with less risk of complications and downtime for facial rejuvenation. Thread embedding acupuncture has become popular as a minimally invasive treatment. However, there is little clinical evidence in the literature regarding its effects. Methods: This single-arm, prospective, open-label study recruited participants who were women aged 40â59 years, with Glogau photoaging scale IIIâIV. Fourteen participants received thread embedding acupuncture one time and were measured before and after 1 week from the procedure. The primary outcome was a jowl to subnasale vertical distance. The secondary outcomes were facial wrinkle distances, global esthetic improvement scale, AlexiadesâArmenakas laxity scale, and patient-oriented self-assessment scale. Results: Fourteen participants underwent thread embedding acupuncture alone, and 12 participants revisited for follow-up outcome measures. For the primary outcome measure, both jowls were elevated in vertical height by 1.87 mm (left) and 1.43 mm (right). Distances of both melolabial and nasolabial folds showed significant improvement. In the AlexiadesâArmenakas laxity scale, each evaluator evaluated for four and nine participants by 0.5 grades improved. In the global aesthetic improvement scale, improvement was graded as 1 and 2 in nine and five cases, respectively. The most common adverse events were mild bruising, swelling, and pain. However, adverse events occurred, although mostly minor and of short duration. Conclusion: In this study, thread embedding acupuncture showed clinical potential for facial wrinkles and laxity. However, further large-scale trials with a controlled design and objective measurements are needed. Keywords: polydioxanone, rejuvenation, rhytidoplasty, skin aging, thread embedding acupuncturehttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213422017301270
spellingShingle Younghee Yun
Inhwa Choi
Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
Integrative Medicine Research
title Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
title_full Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
title_fullStr Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
title_full_unstemmed Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
title_short Effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity: a single-arm, prospective, open-label study
title_sort effect of thread embedding acupuncture for facial wrinkles and laxity a single arm prospective open label study
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213422017301270
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