I was honored to be invited to speak again this past weekend at the Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Course put on by the Occuloplastic Surgery Department at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute. In attendance were facial plastic surgeons, plastic surgeons, occuloplastic surgeons, and dermatologists from around the world. A range of talks were given covering eyelid lift surgery (blepharoplasty), brow lift surgery, and facelift techniques to combat aging.
The title of my talk was “Non-invasive Energy Facelifts–Ultherapy™.” I gave a quick overview of the technology and how the treatment is able to rejuvenate the face without surgery. Ultherapy™ is basically a one-hour treatment, and thanks to the innovative ultrasound technology, there is essentially no downtime. Three to six months after treatment, patients are able to see a “lifting” of their face and neck tissues.
The last part of my lecture received the most interest from the audience. I pointed out that the most frequent question I am asked by patients is, “Should I do Ultherapy™ or should I have a facelift”? The differences between the two are clear. With facelift surgery, we are simply lifting and repositioning tissues of the face. Results from Ultherapy™ are not as dramatic, but one advantage of the treatment is that you are able to stimulate new collagen formation all throughout your facial soft tissues, adding essential support to the face. So if facelifts improve the architecture of the face, and Ultherapy™ is able to stimulate the natural biology of the face, it makes sense that both of these treatments can work together.
Ultherapy™ is useful for patients in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s to stimulate maximal collagen formation. This allows the face to maintain its robust texture. At some point in your life, it may make sense to have a surgical facelift. Studies have shown that the earlier you perform a facelift, the better the results and the longer it lasts! So the optimal age that we typically recommend facelifts to patients is 50’s to early 60’s, but we do see people in their 70’s and 80’s.
After a facelift, we recommend Ultherapy™ to stimulate the biology of collagen formation–an essential process that extends the longevity of the facelift.
Other very interesting lectures at the meeting included new techniques of delivering injectable fillers for addressing age-related volume loss in the face. One other hot topic was the new injectable treatment for submental fat–Kybella™. The audience was optimistic about it being a huge hit!
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For more information about our surgical and non-surgical facial rejuvenation techniques, or if you would like to schedule a consultation with Dr. White, please feel free to contact us.
