Histologic study of dermabrasion and chemical peel in an animal model after pretreatment with Retin-A.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the histologic changes that occur after dermabrasion and chemical peel in an animal model that has been pretreated with topical Retin-A. Since human skin and guinea pig skin are very similar in architecture, pretreatment of the latter with Retin-A may reflect what would occur in human skin. Twelve nude Hartley white guinea pigs were used in our study. Six were pretreated with topical Retin-A and six were controls. Each guinea pig underwent chemical peel and dermabrasion. The wounded areas were watched for clinical progression of healing and biopsied. Both clinical observation and histology revealed that those animals pretreated with Retin-A healed much quicker than the control animals. This was found to be statistically significant with p = 0.05. This study implies that if patients are treated with Retin-A before undergoing chemical peel or dermabrasion, they will likely observe accelerated healing.