Author(s)

Patrícia Froes Meyer^1*, Rodrigo Marcel Valentim da Silva², Eneida De Morais Carreiro¹, Rafaella Rêgo Maia³, Stephany Luanna Queiroga Farias⁴, Ciro Dantas Soares⁵, Yuri Alexander Afonso⁶, Gustavo Felipe Pasqual⁶, Silene Bazi Ribeiro⁷, Roberto Tiago Alves Pinheiro⁸

¹University Centre of Rio Grande do Norte (UNIRN), Natal, Brazil.
²Estácio de Sá University, Natal, Brazil.
³Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil.
⁴Potiguar University (UNP), Natal, Brazil.
⁵Campinas State University (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil.
⁶Brazilian Society of Plastic Surgery, Brazil.
⁷FSG University Centre of Serra Gaúcha, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
⁸MARC Institute, Miami, USA.

Objective: Comparison between semi-ablative and non-ablative radiofrequency for collagen stimulation. Method: Three volunteers with scheduled surgical procedures of abdominoplasty were selected. After the evaluation, the abdominal area was divided into three quadrants, with the right region receiving monopolar non-ablative radiofrequency (RF) application. In contrast, the left region received fractionated radiofrequency (FRF) application, using three different needle sizes (0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 mm), and the intermediate area was kept as a control. After 24 hours, surgery was performed, and the skin flaps were collected for histological and immunohistochemical analyses. Results: An increase in total collagen and type I collagen was observed in the treated groups. There was also an increase in the expression of COX-2, CD68 positive cells (macrophages), and lymphocyte markers (CD3, CD20, and NK-CD57). Furthermore, it was seen that only the use of 3.0-mm needles kept the channels open in the superficial tissue after 24 hours. There were no significant differences between the modalities. Conclusion: Non-ablative and sub-ablative radiofrequency have positive and effective results for flaccidity, demonstrating the success in collagen production. Furthermore, this study is the first to present channel opening and permanence time, which are important to optimize the action of drug delivery.

Collagen, Flaccidity, Radiofrequency, Drug Delivery

Meyer, P. , da Silva, R. , De Morais Carreiro, E. , Maia, R. , Farias, S. , Soares, C. , Afonso, Y. , Pasqual, G. , Ribeiro, S. and Pinheiro, R. (2022) Comparative Study of Collagen Stimulation Using Semi-Ablative and Non-Ablative Radiofrequency. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 10, 79-89. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2022.106007.