Minimally Invasive Skin Tightening

Laxity of skin is one of the most common patient complaints. Traditional procedures to correct skin laxity include facelifts, tummy tucks, thigh lifts, arm lifts where excess skin is literally removed and the remaining skin is redraped to create a youthful appearance.

Making the skin consistently tighter without surgery remains an aesthetic challenge. All of the non-invasive treatments rely on the delivery of energy externally to the skin. The trick is to deliver the energy thru the skin to the deeper structures whether directly beneath the skin or in structural collagen of mid fat or deeper to tighten collagen over the muscle without injuring the overlying skin.

If the deeper collagen is heated efficiently from 50 to 60 degrees celsius, it promotes skin tightening. If the skin is heated up to this temperature it will cause injury – so the skin temperature should not exceed 42 degrees celsius.

Most of the non-invasive external treatments work to some degree but they have their limitations as discussed above.

It would be nice if we could deliver the energy exactly where we want it beneath the skin. This would have several advantages over the purely non-invasive. One, we can deliver higher temperatures deeper and thereby achieve more consistent results.

Until now this technology did not exist but with recent advances we can now deliver radio frequency energy directly where we need it! Other advantages to this system is that we can precisely control the temperature delivered. The small size blunt probe is “computer smart” in that it can sense the temperature and turn itself instantly off if the temperature exceeds the set parameters even by a fraction of a degree.

With the combined use of an external thermal camera we can measure the skin temperature to make sure no injuries occur to the skin as well as to assure that sufficient temperatures are achieved to promote skin tightening. In addition it shows the area being treated to make sure the entire deeper area is treated in a uniform homogenous manner.

Treatments can be performed under local anesthesia or mild sedation. Areas to be treated are anywhere in the body: neck, thighs, abdomen, arms, etc. where laxity occurs. Final results can take up to two months to occur as the collagen is remodeling. Normal activities can be resumed within a day or two.

I believe this new technology will have myriad uses to promote skin tightening in mild to moderate cases and in many cases may replace more invasive procedures.

For additional information, visit www.bodybybloch.com or call Dr. Bloch as his Highland Park office at 847-686-3183 or his Glenview office at 847-901-0800.

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