How a Plastic Surgeon Provides a Personalized Lift—with No Downtime
Created with Ultherapy PRIME
Plastic surgeon Jennifer Levine, MD, says there’s no real alternative for a surgical facelift. But for those who want visible skin lifting on the brow, under the chin and neck, or to smooth lines and wrinkles on the décolleté—without sacrificing even a day to downtime—she suggests a non-invasive treatment called Ultherapy, which uses targeted ultrasound energy to stimulate your body’s own collagen and elastin production to create smoother, lifted skin.
The newest version of the in-office device, Ultherapy PRIME, allows practitioners to deliver effective and personalized treatments. It’s safe for all skin types, and it doesn’t cause sun sensitivity. And the results from a single treatment can last up to a year or more.
A Q&A with Jennifer Levine, MD
Ultherapy PRIME is my go-to treatment for lifting the skin on the brow, under the chin and neck.
Ultherapy PRIME uses ultrasound in two different ways. First, it delivers the treatment itself, a specific form of ultrasound energy called micro-focused ultrasound, to a specific layer of tissues in a series of dots called thermal coagulation points. These dots are at around 65 degrees centigrade, which is the optimum temperature for the production of collagen and elastin.
Second, it uses ultrasound technology for real-time visualization. It gives me, as a practitioner, an idea about how robust the person’s tissue is to begin with. Like, I might see the patient has wispy layers that are not really collagen-dense, and then I’m able to apply energy specifically to those layers.
The treatment could take up to an hour if you’re having multiple areas treated. As ultrasound energy is delivered, you may feel the sensation of heat or tingling, indicating that the collagen and elastin-building process has been initiated.
Discomfort is relative to the patient, but I have personally found most people aren’t really complaining about pain. That said, patient comfort is important in my practice: We do some topical numbing, and we can provide additional options to make the patient more comfortable.
Technically, you could get treated with Ultherapy PRIME the day of the event, if needed. There is zero downtime.
That said, your skin might appear flushed at first. Redness should disappear within a few hours. Some patients experience slight swelling, tingling, or tenderness to the touch, but these are mild and temporary in nature.
If you wanted to have more developed results by the time of the event, you should plan to get treated two or three months in advance. You may see some initial lift immediately after the treatment, but the ultimate results of Ultherapy PRIME unfold gradually, as the growth of new collagen and elastin develops.
A single Ultherapy PRIME treatment provides results that can last up to a year or more. Annual treatments can help patients maintain their results in the long-term, and at least 30 to 40 percent of my patients who come to me for Ultherapy end up coming back to do it again.
There isn’t an obstacle to performing the treatment more frequently. Let’s say you have an event coming up and you can’t do surgery. In that case, I might do Ultherapy PRIME treatment more frequently for a patient looking for a specific outcome.
Although Ultherapy won’t duplicate the results of a facelift, it is a clinically proven, non-invasive alternative for skin lifting. It is a great option for those not ready for surgery.
Ultherapy PRIME does not typically restrict patients’ ability to receive other treatments, but it varies from patient to patient based on their own specific needs. In order to get the most natural-looking results, we want to have the new collagen and elastin, we want to have some support to the tissue, and we want to prevent hypertonic muscles.
For some patients, Ultherapy PRIME can be used with complementary treatments to enhance results, and at home, I recommend using products that are non-irritating.
This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of goop.
The ULTHERA® System is indicated to lift the skin on the neck, under the chin, on the eyebrow and also to improve lines and wrinkles on the décolleté. The most common side effects reported in clinical trials were redness, swelling, pain and transient nerve effects. Reported adverse events from post-marketing surveillance are available in the Instructions for Use (IFU). Please see the IFU for product and safety information, including a full list of these events at Ultherapy.com/IFU. US-ULT-2400232