Plastic surgery has been successfully able to surgically treat older patients for awhile, and younger patients, too, with Botox and fillers. What about those patients who are in between? Too young for a facelift, too old for non-invasive injectables, is there anything available for them? Dr. Stafford Broumand, a board certified plastic surgeon from New York City, thinks a new device is here to bridge the gap.
By: Stafford R. Broumand, MD
and Susan Kamyab
ThePlasticSurgeryChannel.com
Harnessing Radio Frequency for Skin Tightening
Non-invasive procedures are a booming business right now, with anything from Botox to lasers ready to begin rejuvenation on patients who aren’t ready for surgery. While the new devices have found lots of success, still something is needed for patients who are closer to requiring surgical options. To fill this void, ThermiAesthetics has introduced ThermiRF, a radio frequency device aimed at tightening areas of the body that have begun to lose volume and elasticity.
“For patients who are getting less and less of an effect with Botox®, and are coming in every two months instead of every three or four months, we have the answer for them with ThermiRF,” says Dr. Broumand. “With the device, I can tighten the skin on the neck and the jowls by just heating the tissues. The heat creates collagen contraction and over time new collagen deposition.” In other words, the skin tightens and finds a stronger base on newly grown tissue.
Perhaps most exciting about the device is that the results last far longer than Botox and fillers. “With ThermiRF, if we do the procedure 4-6 times over a short period of time, the results can last upwards of 2 years,” says Broumand. “2 years is a lot more exciting than having to go back for Botox after a few months.”
Not just the face, but arms, neck, and even the abdomen!
“It’s not only used for the face,” says Broumand. “We can use it anywhere on the body where there is loose skin. The neck and jawline, arms, even the abdomen.”
Treatments are typically 45 minutes for eyes or face and up to 90 minutes for larger body areas. Best part? There is no downtime! “You come in and have the procedure done under local anesthesia and you walk out,” says Broumand. “It really is that easy, you can return to your life immediately and expect great results.”
Non-invasive devices like ThermiRF are changing the way plastic surgeons approach loose skin. “This really is an answer for someone who has a problem and isn’t a great candidate for surgery, but doesn’t get the effect from a non-surgical procedure,” says Broumand. “It’s new technology. We didn’t have this years ago, even a year ago! We do now, and it is really quite exciting.”