I have had some more questions for my ‘Agony Aunt’ column and I thought you might like to read the replies: –
I had a Fraxel Re:store procedure last July. Initially the results were very good, but soon afterwards, I developed horizontal lines on my lower chin. The dermatologist who conducted the procedure said that she had never seen this result. Pictures were taken and sent to the manufacturer, who also acknowledged that lines have appeared since the procedure, but did not offer any reason why. Is there a filler that could be used to treat these lines, or is there a risk that fillers could make them look worse?
I am sorry to hear you had a problem after the Fraxel treatment. It would naturally be easier to answer this question face to face but there are two products you may need to consider which could be of benefit to you. Depending on the depth of the lines you may want to try Restylane Vital or Restylane Touch. Both of these might help you but you would need to see a specialist first. Another thing you might want to consider is a Dermaroller treatment, these can improve the overall appearance of the skin from various problems. I think that it is unlikely that expertly injected fillers would make the problem worse.Five months ago I had BodyTite carried out on seven separate areas and I cannot see any improvement whatsoever. The surgeon took over four litres of fat in total and he agrees that the results are not what they should be, so plans to redo all seven areas. But surely I should have seen some difference in at least one area. Why would BodyTite not have worked and is there another procedure I should investigate?
All treatments have a failure rate and without a thorough examination it would be impossible to say why the Body Tite procedure did not help you on this occasion. Without knowing all of the details I would wonder why so many areas were done on the same day but perhaps I am mistaken. It is reasonable to allow the surgeon a chance to rectify the situation for you before seeking out alternatives. Personally I perform both Body Tite and VASER and I believe the results are much more dependent on the doctor than the technology. Even with perfect technique however the results can vary from patient to patient.
I am concerned that my once youthful rounded cheeks are sagging into jowls as I get older. I’ve been reading a lot about two new skin tightening treatments – Pelleve and Ulthera. What is the difference between these two procedures and which, in your opinon, is best?
Both treatments attempt to produce significant skin tightening by the introduction of heat into the skin tissues. Pelleve uses radio-frequency energy and Ultherapy uses ultrasound. Whilst I have no personal experience of Pelleve I have a Thermage machine (which uses radio-frequency too) and I have tried various cheaper radio-frequency devices. The main point in all these is to produce heat under the skin to stimulate neo-collagenesis. Unfortunately unless you protect the upper layers of skin there is a limit to how much heat you can generate. Thermage is as far as I am aware the only machine which actively cools the upper layers of the skin. This allows it too generate more heat and thus get more effect.
The newer Ulthera machine is a very interesting prospect. I happen to have the first one in the country and the results coming through from USA are very encouraging too. This works by using a focused ultrasound beam to create tiny micro-thermal zones under the skin causing the skin to tighten. It has the advantage of being cheaper than Thermage and appears to be significantly better than the other radio-frequency alternatives. I was given the chance to buy either Pelleve or Ulthera. I chose Ulthera.