The longevity of combination therapies

Dr. Chilukuri

It’s known that combination therapies can be used to create ideal treatment outcomes, but according to Suneel Chilukuri, M.D., Refresh Dermatology, Houston, Texas, who recently spoke on the subject at this year’s Maui Derm for Dermatologists, results may also “…last a whole lot longer than we originally thought.”

Dr. Chilukuri says the success of using combination therapies is creating a long-lasting youthful look for patients.

“Although there's FDA clearance for six months, up to 12 months, and occasionally, up to 18 months for some of these fillers and even neuromodulators, we're finding that when done in combination and when combined with laser therapies or other energy based devices, patients are looking better and better as they continue to mature from a chronological standpoint,” he says.

The popularity and advancement of radio frequency has heightened the ability to treat patients with concerns that would usually require surgery, especially when treated with other minimally invasive techniques.

“What we're able to do without doing surgical cutting is remarkable,” he says. “We're really able to go ahead and improve the jawline, lift up the neck, improve the brow position and even the forehead itself.”

To improve the tone, texture and structure of the skin, Dr. Chilukuri combines neuromodulators, filler and a 1927 nm laser to get the best results for his patients.

“We're erasing all that sun damage, really making this skin look as healthy as that patient feels on the inside,” he adds.

Dr. Chilukuri says his younger patients are also increasingly concerned with “tech neck.”

“More people [are] walking around looking [down] at their phones, so they're getting these horizontal lines,” he says.

To address this, he says using topicals is a popular option. Another is a combination treatment of neuromodulators, fillers and energy devices that, Dr. Chilukuri notes, can be very successful in diminishing the appearance of the lines.

“We can use topicals, which are working great,” he says. “The second thing we can do is use a different type of neuromodulator or Botox technique where we're applying between half a unit to a quarter of a unit of very superficial blebs right along the neck in a wide pattern. We find that those lines tend to fade that way. You can use superficial fillers to go ahead and improve that and then we can maintain these results for even longer by using the external radio frequency.”