New face lift technology without surgery - FDA approved

Main Category: Cosmetic Medicine / Plastic Surgery
Article Date: 26 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT


6.6 million Americans had plastic surgery in the USA the traditional way last year - doctor visits, the cutting, the bandages, the healing and the bruises.

A blend of new and old technology (approved by the FDA) promises to be a blessing for people seeking smoother and younger-looking skin.

This new technology is called Thermage. The same radio waves that carry music, talk and news may also give face-lifts.

Kiss Crow's-Feet Bye-Bye

Jill Barry, a 50-year-old flight attendant from Northern California, is a true believer.

'I've seen a huge difference in the texture of my skin and the firmness of my face,' she says.

Gone are the crow's-feet, and her forehead's smoother too. She credits the device that neither cuts like a knife nor burns like a laser.

Her Stanford physician, James Koch, describes Thermage as incision-free, and with no risk of scarring.

The technology, first developed in 1995, is now an FDA-approved complement to conventional face-lift surgery. It relies on high-frequency radio waves that excite water molecules so much they get hot. The waves heat up collagen fibers under the face until they contract and tighten the skin. While the radio waves target collagen, Koch says a cryogenic tip cools the surface so the face never burns.

Messy, But No Blood

The procedure looks a little messy. A tattoo-like ink grid placed on the face acts as a guide so doctors won't accidentally heat up the same space twice.

'It just tells me where I need to go,' Koch says.

The treatment takes less than two hours - sometimes even less than an hour. Unlike with surgery, clients such as Jill Barry can walk out and go right back to work.

'I can't be inconvenienced,' Barry says. 'I don't have the time to be bandaged and to lay in bed.'

Thermage Is No Face-Lift

As with all new technologies, there's a learning curve and inconsistent results. 'We're still trying to determine the ideal candidate for Thermage,' Koch says.

One reason for the inconsistency, Stanford cosmetic surgeon Stephen Schendel says, is the limitations of the technology. Thermage may help slow down wrinkles when they're just starting to grow.

But, Schendel says, 'It's not going to give you that huge change where your sagging facial tissues are gonna instantly lift up and disappear.'

Koch says Thermage 'is a complement to surgery or a noninvasive alternative. The patients need to understand that.'

Faster Is Cheaper

Patients should also understand the bill. Thermage costs about $1,200 for a forehead procedure and another $1,200 to smooth away the crow's-feet. A full face-lift can cost upward of $5,000. That's comparable in price to some laser treatments, but Koch says laser technologies only treat the surface, whereas Thermage gets deep down to the collagen.

Thermage clients such as Janet Driscoll may need several treatments to jump-start collagen to tighten the skin. But the results impress her so much, she wishes there was more Thermage could do.

'I wish they could do it on my waist and shrink up the fat,' she laughs, 'but it's not working that way.'

• Additional
• References
• Citations