Evaluation of histologic changes after microdermabrasion in a porcine model.

BACKGROUND There is a paucity of scientific information on the histologic changes associated with the clinical response to microdermabrasion. OBJECTIVE In this study we sought to evaluate those changes in the skin after microdermabrasion, using a porcine model. METHODS Using the left flank of an 8-week-old pig, we tattooed 4 areas with "A," "B," "C," and "D." Each of these areas was subdivided, in a gridlike fashion, from the dorsal to the ventral surface into 3 x 3-cm squares, which were numbered 1 through 8. Vacuum was initiated at 25 mm Hg the first week and increased by 5 mm Hg for each of 7 weeks to a high of 55 mm Hg in week 7. Biopsy specimens from each grid were obtained weekly. These samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and with the Verhoff/Van Geison (elastin) stain. Blinded histologic review of the biopsy specimens was performed by a dermatopathologist. Histometric analyses of the biopsy specimens were performed in which dermal thickness (millimeters), collagen-bundle thickness (microns), and epidermal thickness (microns) were all measured. RESULTS Dermal thickness was increased by as much as 40% in the thinner skin and by 27% in the thicker skin. Similarly, the increase in collagen-bundle thickness was 22%, whereas the increase in the epidermal thickness was 9%. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this preliminary study appear to indicate that microdermabrasion produces real increases in dermal thickness, collagen-bundle thickness, and epidermal thickness. Histologically, the procedure produces changes similar to those seen after dermabrasion, laser resurfacing, and chemical peels.