Comparison of Radiofrequency and Surgical Treatment of Underarm Odor

Underarm odor is a common clinical disease, and young women are more susceptible to the disease. The main symptom is that the armpit produces an unpleasant pungent odor. Underarm odor causes severe psychological burden on patients, so the treatment of underarm odor is also more common in plastic surgery.

At present, the treatment methods for underarm odor mainly involve surgical treatment and non-surgical treatment. However, different treatment methods have large differences in terms of cure rate, recurrence rate, and complications. In this study, radiofrequency and surgical methods were used to treat patients with underarm odor. The efficacy and complications of the two treatments were compared to provide a basis for clinical treatment.

1. Treatment of underarm odor’s materials and methods 

1.1 Common materials

A total of 54 patients who undergraduated and were diagnosed with underarm odor from April 2015 to April 2016 were selected as the research objects, including 16 males and 38 females; aged 18 to 43 years, with an average (25.4 ± 3.2) years of age. According to Park’s axillary odor classification criteria, 14 patients were grade II patients and 40 patients were grade III patients. Inclusion criteria: ① All patients were clinically diagnosed as underarm odor patients and were in grades Ⅱ to Ⅲ; ② Patients or family members signed informed consent and approved by the hospital ethics committee. Exclusion criteria: ① There was no keloid or hypertrophy of the axillary surgery site; ② the presence of cardiovascular disease, severe liver and kidney disease, psychosomatic disease, coagulopathy, and implants near the operation area; ③ pregnant women and axillary operation area had Redness, swelling, pain, infection, and ulceration; ④ Patients with a history of anesthetic allergy or patients in menstrual period. Random number table method was used to divide the patients into two groups, that is, the surgery group and the radio frequency group. There was no significant difference in general information such as age, gender, and disease status between the two groups of patients (P> 0.05). 1.

1.2 Treatment method

Surgery group: W-shaped incision subcutaneous pruning. The patient was supine, with both upper limbs flexed and elbow abducted, hands placed on top of the head, and a surgical area was delineated along the axillary hair area to prepare skin. 0.5% iodine sterilization area, routinely single. 0.5% lidocaine plus epinephrine (1: 200,000) was used for local infiltration anesthesia. The “W” incision was located at the axillary hair edge where the transverse axillary line and the posterior axillary line intersected. The length of the incision was determined according to the scope of the operation. Cut the skin, separate the pre-armature marking range, stitch the suture line at the edge of the incision, flip the flap, cut off the adipose tissue, hair follicles, sweat glands, sweat glands, sebaceous glands, etc. under the flap, retain the subdermal vascular network, electrocoagulate to stop bleeding . Normal saline was used to repeatedly flush the space under the flap, and the skin was routinely placed for drainage, and the incision was sutured. Packing lines were stitched around the operation area, and Vaseline gauze, cotton balls, and elastic bandages were used for pressure bandaging. Postoperatively, antibiotics and hemostatic drugs were applied, and the upper limbs were braked. The dressing was changed on the second day after surgery, the drainage skin was removed, and the elastic bandage was applied under pressure. The compression pack was opened on the 7th day after surgery, and the suture was removed on the 10th day. Radio frequency group: Golden microneedles radio frequency therapy method. The patient lies on his back with his hands outstretched and holds his head. The range of axillary hair is marked with Meilan. Anesthesia was performed with local swelling of 0.5% lidocaine swelling fluid, and 30 to 40 mL was injected subcutaneously on each side. Use a gold microneedle radio frequency therapy instrument metal cannula to puncture the fat in the operation area, link the handle to the host, and turn on the therapy instrument. Select the appropriate RF parameters according to the thickness of the patient’s skin and set the critical temperature. Apply sterile gel evenly on and around the surgical operation area, gently press the external receiving electrode to make it close to the skin, and treat it by moving slowly and stamping it at a fixed point. (Less than 2s), the energy is transmitted to the skin under the epidermis to a preset temperature value, at which point the treatment end point is reached, slowly move to the next stamped part with an interval of about 1.3 cm between the stamped parts, covering the entire target area for treatment. During the operation, the epidermal growth factor was sprayed refrigerated. After the operation, compound polymyxin and epidermal growth factor were sprayed on the wound surface and applied with ice for half an hour.

1.3 Efficacy Evaluation Criteria

On-site or telephone follow-up from 6 months to 2 years, with an average of 15 months, including wound bleeding, hematoma, infection, necrosis and ulcers, whether the postoperative odor changes and recurrence, and whether there is scar hyperplasia. Efficacy evaluation criteria: Healing is no smell at 1m from the patient; no significant effect is that there is a slight odor at 1m from the patient or it is only smelled after manual labor; invalidation is that the odor can be smelled at 1m or outside from the armpit; The recurrence was a recurrence of underarm odor after treatment. Effective rate = (number of cured cases + number of marked cases) / total number of cases, recurrence rate = number of relapsed cases / number of cured cases.

1.4 Statistical processing

SPSS17.0 software was used to express the count data as a percentage. Χ2 test was used for comparison between groups. P <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

2. Treatment of underarm odor’s results

2.1 Treatment results

The effective rates of treatment in the two groups were 84.62% and 85.71%, and the recurrence rates of the two groups were 22.22% and 22.22%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the effective rates and recurrence rates between the two groups (χ2 = 6.78, P = 0.71; χ2 = 6.59, P = 0.74), see Table 2.

2.2 Complication

The incidence of complications in the RF group was 11.54%, which was significantly lower than the 25.00% in the surgical group. The difference was statistically significant (χ2=1.64, P= 0.03), as shown in Table 3.

3. Treatment of underarm odor’s discussion

The incidence of underarm odor patients in our population is as high as 6.41%, which is a common disease in cosmetic and plastic surgery, but its pathogenesis has not been clearly explained. The production of underarm odor is related to abnormal secretion of sweat glands. Due to the influence of genetic factors and endocrine, the sweat glands generally increase significantly during puberty, and then they will shrink with age, and the underarm odor will be reduced accordingly. Underarm odor patients bear a huge burden on their physical and mental health in social interactions. Therefore, simple, minimally invasive, beautiful, fast recovery and long-lasting treatment methods are urgently needed for patients with underarm odor.

At present, there are various conventional treatments for underarm odor, and each method has its advantages and disadvantages. Topical drugs and injection treatments alleviate underarm odor by inhibiting the secretion of sweat glands. Although the effect is fast, the recovery is fast, the pain is small, and the trauma is small, but because the sweat glands are not damaged, the effect duration is short, and repeated treatment and maintenance are needed. Surgical removal of the sweat glands is mainly surgical, and the effect is exact. Although the axillary skin resection method can cure axillary odor, it is easy to cause scar hyperplasia due to postoperative trauma and even cause scar contracture.

With the continuous development of medical technology, small incision subcutaneous pruning, small incision scraping, and aspiration are increasingly used. Such minimally invasive surgery has significant advantages such as less trauma and faster recovery. The sweat glands are removed, which is prone to omission and cause complications such as infection, hematoma and skin necrosis.

The radio frequency therapeutic instrument uses radio frequency current to send and receive resistance between the emitter and the receiver and the resistance formed by the tissue, which causes the water molecules in the tissue to frictionally generate heat, thereby destroying the cells. The thermal effect can also denature proteins in the cells of the sweat glands, making the cells Rupture to achieve the goal of removing sweat glands.

This article uses radiofrequency and surgical methods to treat patients with underarm odor. The efficacy and complications of the two methods are compared. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in the efficacy and recurrence rate between surgical treatment and radiofrequency treatment (all P> 0.05); however, the incidence of complications was significantly lower in patients treated with radiofrequency than with surgical treatment, and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜ 0.05). It shows that the efficacy of radiofrequency treatment of patients with underarm odor is equivalent to that of traditional surgical treatment, but the operation of radiofrequency method is simpler, fewer contraindications, better safety, and less likely to cause scarring, which will affect the aesthetic appearance of patients. Large, and it is easy to cause complications such as infection, scar and skin necrosis after operation, which not only affects the aesthetics, but also causes the patient’s upper limb function to be limited. Zhang Zhiping also pointed out that the cure rate of both surgical treatment and radiofrequency treatment is close to 70%, and the effect is not significantly different, but surgical treatment often has complications such as postoperative scars.

However, Zhu Guang also showed that radiofrequency treatment of patients with underarm odor is more effective than surgical treatment. He also pointed out that radiofrequency treatment has fewer complications and better safety. The reasons for different conclusions may be mainly different from the specific surgical measures. . At present, there are few reports on the recurrence of patients after the two methods of treatment. This study indicates that the recurrence rate of patients after treatment with both methods is 22.22%. Although there is no significant difference between the two methods, the recurrence rate is high. This is also a hot issue that plagues many patients and doctors. It suggests that the treatment of underarm odor needs further research and improvement. , So as to help patients better solve their problems and get rid of the anxiety and burden caused by underarm odor as soon as possible.

In summary, the radiofrequency treatment method for the treatment of underarm odor is simple, effective, small trauma, fewer complications, long-lasting and reliable.

4. Treatment of underarm odor’s conclusion

Our Golden microneedling radiofrequency treatment is composed of “microneedle probe, radio frequency energy, and segmented technology of shuttle laser”. The microneedle probe uses the “golden microneedles” with a diameter of only 0.12mm to enter the deep layers of the skin, and at the same time, the nutrient elements are applied to the surface of the skin and introduced into the deeper layers of the skin through the microneedles; The microneedles are inserted into the skin by vibration, and the radio frequency energy is quickly released from the tip of the “golden microneedles” within 0.1 seconds, and the energy is directly injected into the dermis layer, which promotes the effective denaturation, reorganization, and proliferation of collagen. Microneedle radiofrequency treatment can not only effectively stimulate deep collagen reorganization, repair aging and collapse of aging skin (wrinkles, sagging) and treat underarm odor, but also protect the epidermis and relieve the risk of burns.