Question: I am a 58-year-old man and I have been having a problem with saggy jowls for the past few years. I am reluctant to surgically remove the skin, so I have been searching for another method to fix them. I have heard that Ultherapy can tighten the skin at the jawline. I am afraid that my skin might be too saggy though. What degree of sagginess can be corrected with Ultherapy?
Answer: Well, we have certainly seen rather significant jowling be visually improved using the Ultherapy device. However, we do tend to recommend that patients with very early signs of aging consider Ultherapy and patients with more advanced signs of aging, we recommend consideration of a surgical-type procedure to correct their concern. Nonetheless, patients with more advanced signs of aging who emphatically do not want to undergo a surgical procedure are still candidates for Ultherapy. The wonderful thing about the Ultherapy technology is that it does provide consistency with the way that the device causes heat transfer to the deeper tissue. We, therefore, know that virtually everyone ends up having a significant amount of new collagen deposited into their deeper tissue, and this is what then causes tightening and lifting. The way I discuss this with my patients is that, if they have a very small amount of laxity and the Ultherapy device can completely rid them of this laxity, they will be extremely pleased with their result. If they have a moderate amount of laxity and the Ultherapy can improve the laxity by 50%, they will most likely be very pleased as well. If, however, they have a severe amount of laxity and the Ultherapy also improves their soft tissue but, due to the severity of the laxity, this is only a 10% improvement, then they will most likely not be extraordinarily pleased with the improvement. We discuss all these issues with our patients before recommending the Ultherapy treatment and I, therefore, would recommend that you schedule a consultation at the Quintessa Medical Spa so that your expectations and goals can be discussed.
