Vibration-Assisted Anesthesia Reduces Pain in Dermatologic Procedures: A Split-Lesion Study.

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Pain Management
• Anesthesia

Background:

• Vibration-assisted anesthesia utilizes gate control theory for non-pharmacologic pain reduction.
• Limited real-world data exists for vibration-assisted anesthesia in dermatology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a new wearable vibrating kinetic anesthesia (VKA) device.
• To evaluate pain reduction during dermatologic procedures using a split-lesion, intrapatient-controlled design.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational study with 629 patients undergoing dermatologic procedures.
• Comparison of procedures on sites with and without VKA.
• Pain assessment via Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), and Modified Verbal Rating Scale (MVRS).

Main Results:

• VKA significantly reduced pain: mean ΔVAS = 2.61, ΔNRS = 2.44 (p < .001).
• Large effect sizes (Cohen's d > 1.0) and high composite success rate (81.5%).
• Patients preferred VKA in 94.6% of cases, with a shift in pain descriptors.

Conclusions:

• Vibration-assisted anesthesia is effective in reducing procedural pain in dermatology.
• The VKA device significantly improves the patient experience during dermatologic procedures.