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Media Coverage of Thermage Treatment |
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| Scarless Face-lifts |
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‘Thermage’ Uses Radio Waves to Erase Wrinkles and Reduce Sagging
N E W Y O R K, Nov. 7 — Non-surgical face-lifts have gained popularity over the last few years. Thermage, one of the latest procedures to be approved by the FDA, turns back time according to some patients who have undergone the procedure in an effort to achieve a more youthful look.
Good Morning America examined the relatively new procedure as part of the Healthy Woman series "Fountain of Truth." |
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This patient underwent Thermage on the right side of her face with Dr. Dale Isaacson in Washington D.C. Before completing her whole face, they revealed the results on ABCNEWS' affiliate, WJLA.(ABCNEWS.com)
embarrassment. |
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The procedure involves no cutting, no anesthesia and no extra time for healing, but only a handful of doctors in New York currently perform the procedure, which was approved by the FDA in May , 2003.
The device uses radio frequency energy to tighten and lift the skin. It is performed using an advanced radio frequency device called "ThermaCoolTC”
The device uses the heat and energy of radio waves, which pass through the skin and build collagen. In the process, some sagging is lifted and some wrinkles are removed. The full benefits take three to six months to appear. However, unlike surgery, it's not so obvious that you've had work done and saves lot of embarrassment.. |
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| Before and After |
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Do Nonsurgical Face-Lifts Make a Lasting Impression?
N E W Y O R K, Feb. 24 - For those who wish to get a younger-looking face without going under the knife, a new procedure called thermage is gaining momentum.
Good Morning America examined the relatively new cosmetic procedure as part of the Healthy Woman series "Fountain of Truth" in November 2003. As promised, GMA brought back 52-year-old Kathleen Kornblatt, the woman who received Thermage treatment live on the show from Dr. Michelle Copeland's New York office.
Today Kornblatt showed off the results of the procedure, which actually take three to six months to appear.
"I'm glad I did it," Kornblatt said. "I can't really pull anything anymore like I used to. If you do this and catch it early, maybe you'll never need a facelift," she said.
Thermage seemingly turns back time,
The device tested by these researchers was the ThermaCool System. Initially, researchers set out to treat crow's feet wrinkles with treatments to the forehead and temple areas. After treatments, wrinkling improved in a majority of patients, and skin tightened in the temple area, as well as in the eyebrow and eyelid areas.
"Many patients don't want the risks, downtime, or looks associated with surgery. This gives them another option to consider," said Dr. Fitzpatrick, associate clinical professor at the University of California at San Diego, and in practice at Dermatology Associates of San Diego County Inc.
He said other than some minor redness for a day and soreness for a few days, there are virtually no visible signs of healing after treatment and no postoperative care required.
Just the right person
An ideal candidate for this skin tightening technique is a person with minimal loose tissue who is a borderline facelift candidate. Such patients could avoid a facelift if they were treated early on with the ThermaCool device
This is quite different from lasers developed to do similar things," he said. "Theoretically, you could use this device to tighten loose skin anywhere," he said. "We've been using it commonly to treat loose skin on cheeks and anterior neck." He and other physicians have started using the device to elevate breasts and to tighten skin in other body areas su ch as abdomen , arms and buttocks.
"The fact that we may be able to do this on sagging skin on the buttocks, legs, arms, breasts, or abdomen is exciting," he said. "Those areas aren't suited for surgery, and many surgeries used are so complex and such big surgeries that they're not really desirable." |
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| Thermage on Oprah Winfrey Show |
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By NATASHA SINGER
Published: May 11, 2006
FEW Americans had heard of a beauty treatment called Thermage until Oprah Winfrey began championing it on her talk show. Billed as a procedure to tighten skin, Thermage uses a radio-wave emitting machine to heat and expand collagen beneath the skin's surface. |
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| Oprah Winfrey |
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Cosmetic procedures seen on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." |
| John McConnico/Associated Press |
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| In episodes with names like "How to Stop the Clock on Aging," "Look Younger! Live Longer!" and "Look 10 Years Younger in 10 Days," Ms. Winfrey introduced Thermage as one of the "latest cutting-edge treatments" and as a "lunchtime face-lift" that requires no recovery time. |
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When Thermage was first showcased on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in 2003, "the show drove so much interest that our sales reps were selling machines over the phone," said Stephen J. Fanning, president and chief executive of Thermage Inc., which sells machines to doctors for about $30,000.
And every time "Oprah" reruns one of its Thermage episodes, most recently last summer, traffic on the Thermage Web site (thermage.com) spikes to 30,000 hits for the day, Mr. Fanning said. Ten to 14 percent of the people who visit the site after seeing an "Oprah" episode end up visiting a doctor's office to have a facial procedure, |
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Study Published in Facial Plastic Surgery Journal, 2005
Finds Selective Heating of
Fibrous Septae Key to Success and Safety of Thermage® ThermaCool™ System
HAYWARD, Calif. - June 20, 2005. Research published today in the June/July 2005 issue of Facial Plastic Surgery Journal (FPSJ) further validates the unique mechanism of action produced deep within the skin by the Thermage® ThermaCool™ System's monopolar radiofrequency (RF) energy. While the immediate tissue tightening and dermal collagen remodeling effects produced by the ThermaCool system have been well established since the device's introduction in 2002, according to lead author Manoj T. Abraham, M.D., Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, selective heating and tightening of the fibrous "threads" that run through the fat (subcutaneous fibrous septae) better explain visible contouring changes that are unique to the Thermage Procedure.
In the paper titled "Current Concepts in Nonablative Radiofrequency Rejuvenation of the Lower Face and Neck," Dr. Abraham credits research findings by co-author E. Victor Ross, M.D., Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, with first documenting the unique properties of monopolar radiofrequency to selectively heat and tighten the natural fibrous septae threads that give facial skin its structure and shape."When radiofrequency energy is delivered within the skin, it favors the path of least resistance to tighten and remodel collagen-which, in this case, is the fibrous septae," says Dr. Abraham. "If you think of the skin's inner framework as plumbing, radiofrequency energy is delivered like water and empties through the channels of fibrous septae producing the tightening that is seen. Unless the channels overflow with radiofrequency energy, there should be minimal overflow of heating to the fat tissue." "This new research about selective heating of fibrous septae has deepened our understanding of how capacitively coupled RF is able to achieve its unique contouring effect without damaging the fat," said Mitch Levinson, Vice President of Research and Development for Thermage. "The electric current finds its path of least resistance through the fibrous septae, so most of the heating effect is in the collagenous fibrous septae threads that connect the dermis to the fascia, and not in the fat layer."
Thermage has continually refined its radiofrequency technology to maximize results while ensuring patient safety. Last year, the company introduced and trained its physician users on an enhanced treatment algorithm that supports the role of selectively heating fibrous septae. According to Mr. Levinson, "The same immediate collagen contraction and dermal remodeling that we observe in the dermis is happening in the deeper structural collagen as well. And for all the same reasons that the new treatment approach works in the dermis, the use of multiple passes at moderate treatment levels also optimizes the contouring effects while minimizing pain and adverse events."
The Thermage procedure offers physicians and their patients a non-invasive skin-tightening and contouring option without the downtime and recovery period associated with invasive cosmetic procedures such as conventional lifting surgery, liposuction and laser treatments. Commercially launched in July 2002, the Thermage ThermaCool device is cleared by the FDA for the treatment of facial wrinkles and rhytids adding to its clearance obtained in November 2002 for treatment of the periorbital area (around the eyes) cheeks , sub mental area ( chin ) and neck. "Understanding the complex mechanism of action delivered by the ThermaCool System is vital to enhancing future clinical outcomes and expanding treatment parameters beyond the face and neck," adds Dr. Abraham. "Monopolar radiofrequency technology will play an increasingly important role in future facial rejuvenation and body contouring."
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