Non-Invasive Rejuvenation Procedures

Thermage Radiofrequency Skin Tightening

To our past, present, and future patients:

We have had the Thermage Radiofrequency Skin Tightening technology in our office for approximately 2 1/2 years. The procedure also known under the name of Thermacool and Thermalift is designed to tighten skin by contracting the deeper layers of skin.

Our initial results and responses of our patients have been very encouraging. We now have some before and after patient photos available for viewing.

The results of this new technology are not as dramatic as those of facial surgeries. However, the risks of surgery, anesthesia, and scarring are far less, and for the right individual, with less demanding expectations, it may be an excellent choice of treatment.

Patients are able to undergo the Thermalift procedure over a period of 30 to 40 minutes. Most individuals can undergo the procedure using a topical anesthetic placed on the face 1 hour before the treatment. For others, we have administered an oral sedative such as Valium to be taken about 1 hour before the procedure. These patients will need transportation home after the session. For patients who require more significant sedation, our anesthesiologist can assist in providing appropriate levels of deeper sedation. This would certainly be the case where the treatment is being performed with other surgical procedures.

It is our early observation that the range of patient responses is quite large. The procedure has somewhat more pain than we had initially believed, however, there are a number of people who do quite well without anything more than the topical treatment. The pain of each pulse is momentary and a cooling spray follows quite quickly thereafter. These individuals are motivated by not undergoing sedation and are interested in returning to normal activity immediately after the treatment.

Our initial experience has been very encouraging. Whereas it may take up to 6 months to see the final results, we have seen a number of patients who demonstrated improvement immediately after the procedure. To date we have treated approximately 200 patients without significant adverse side effects.*

Based on personal observation and attendance at seminars it is our impression that Thermalift will yield the following results.

75% of individuals will see a modest or minimal improvement.
25% of individuals will see minimal improvement.

Some patients who do not appreciate improvement will become aware of the change when able to view before and after photographs. It should be kept in mind that some patients see results immediately after the procedure is performed. Others will see improvement during a 3 to 6 month period after the procedure. At the very least, patients who see minimal improvement or those who cannot appreciate improvement are probably being benefitted in terms of maintaining their tissue position.

It is our impression that patients might be eligible to repeat the treatment in 6 months in attempt to increase the level of improvement.

We believe that the Thermalift technique may be able to help the following patient population groups.

• Younger individuals who are not yet ready for forehead lifts or lower facelifts.
  
• Patients interested in skin tightening with subtle change without the risk of scarring and riskier procedures.
  
• Patient who have already undergone facial cosmetic surgery and would like to obtain further tightening without a return to surgery.
  
• Patient who have already had laser resurfacing and which further improvement of skin tightening and / or acne scarring.
  
• Patients on medications or who have personal health issues that will not allow for the safe use of general anesthesia or more invasive procedures.
  

Patient’s may benefit best when the Thermalift is performed in combination with a number of different treatment modalities over a period of time. For example, some patients might benefit combining the Thermalift with more traditional surgical procedures. Of interest, in patients who have already had surgery, their tightening can be advanced. Other patients, and this probably represents a larger group of individuals, might benefit from combining the benefits of Thermalift with non invasive maintenance procedures such as IPL laser, Nlite, Botox, Collagen and Resytlane Injections, skin care therapy, and microdermabrasions. These latter procedures would be performed over a period of several months.


Patients who should not have the Thermalift procedure would be those with pacemakers (for heart rhythm). Patients with very loose skin will notice change less than those with tighter skin.

The face is clearly the best area for treatment. There may be individuals who might want to treat the following areas with less well-defined benefits.

• Loose skin under the arms.
  
• Stretch marks on the abdomen or hips.
  

It has been our early experience that patients might want to combine the Thermalift procedure with traditional surgical procedures. For example, there are patients who are undergoing upper eyelid blepharoplasty, which involves removing skin from the upper eyelids. The Thermalift procedure might be able to lift the forehead and eyebrows if performed at the same time, which in effect improves the overall result.

Our pricing policy is available through the office. We have structured the costs so that patients may benefit from having either a portion or total treatment of the face performed. For patients who need a subsequent treatment, the fee will be reduced. Each patient and their individual treatment plan are subject to independent pricing.

For general information regarding the Thermalift procedure, we would refer you to the company web site at http://www.thermage.com/ For specific questions please feel free to email doctor Altman at daipsc@aol.com or contact any of our staff through “contact us” section of our main menu page.

Additional Discussion: *

Complications: To date, we have not had any major complications from the treatment. Known, but not common complications, might include injury to the skin or deeper tissue. It is possible for a burn of the skin to occur which would result in a scar. This has not happened to any of our patients to date. We have heard of a patient elsewhere who is experiencing numbness in the ear lobe area presumably from treatment to the skin just below the ear. It is possible that the Thermage treatment may have injured the sensory nerve just below the ear where the skin is very thin. We are responding to this information by avoiding treatment or lowering the power when the treatment tip is directly over known nerves in the face. Some patients have described small lumps in the skin on the neck. We haven’t seen this yet either. This may be due to tissue contraction under the skin. We have heard that most of these situations are self-limiting. Lastly, one of our patients had a few welts in the skin just below chin. It was very temporary. Another patient had an area of numbness under the chin, which is resolving after approximately 6 weeks. A full consent for the Thermalift procedure is available in the office. Patients are asked to sign consents prior to undergoing procedures in our office.