Thermismooth Radiofrequency Treatment - can anyone recommend it for refining and tightening?

Every patient is different!  That is why non surgical tightening procedures are not magical and deserve a physician consultation to determine what is the best treatment, even if that physician does not perform that treatment!Some patients refuse to have surgery and want to reverse the effects of aging.  We have to have realistic expectations.  Non-invasive energy sources, whether radiofrequency, such as: ThermiRF, Pelleve, Thermage and Exelis, lasers such as Fraxel Repair, plasma such as the former Rhytec Portrait which is now an Energist device, can help tighten facial and non facial tissues but not to the extent of surgery. I tell those patients that see me in consultation, who can benefit with a greater result from surgery than the non-invasive energy sources.  Many of those patients don't want surgery knowing that the result will remove more fat or more sagging skin. They are more than happy to have some result of facial rejuvenation, knowing that unlike with surgery, there is no way to know how much skin will be lifted, as this is a result of their individualistic body response.ThermiRF has produced a treatment called ThermiSmooth. This is a series of non-invasive, non painful, treatments, often done 10 to 14 days or more part, for 5 or 6 treatments.  This is compared to having one ThermiTight procedure but this is more of a minimally invasive procedure involving more post operative swelling and possibly bruising.  Local anesthetic has to be injected prior to ThermiTight, not ThermiSmooth.I have found significant reversal of photoaging with lifting from ThermiSmooth on my patients.  Some have dramatic improvement but none obtain this immediately after the procedure.  It always takes a minimum of six months to more than a year after the procedure to obtain the maximal improvement.ThemiTight has a high patient satisfaction rating.  I have found though, that all procedures that produce results over time, in contrast to plastic surgery, require the patient to view their before photos to see the difference as none of us can remember exactly how we looked and when changes for the better occur slowly day after day, it's difficult for anyone to judge how they're doing.  Comparing the final post operative photograph to the before often shows a dramatic improvement.

Hi Diana.  We are not proponents of radiofrequency devices and if you look at the Realself ratings for this device it's only at 55% currently.  This is a very low patient satisfaction rating for us as a practice.  We do not offer any service where we cannot achieve at least an 80% patient satisfaction rate.  The challenge we have found with RF devices is that patients with too much fatty tissue or skin that is too lax are not good candidates.  And this is only for the area under the chin, which was the original indication for these devices.  We tell our patients that are completely opposed to facial surgery or liposcution that they should only use RF if they are OK with the very limited benefits and the fact that they will need to repeat the procedure every 6 months to maintain the effects.  

#ThermiSmooth is great for skin tighteningthere are many technologies for non surgical tightening;Ultrasound, Infrared, RFThey all heat collagen but RF appears to do it best, least painful and cost effective

ThermiSmooth is a great RF device to  to refine and tighten skin. Other RF devices and lasers (such as the Sciton BBL) are also effective.  In response to RF the collagen in skin shrinks when heated to a sustained temperatures greater than 40°C. When the skin is heated to this level, this creates a physiologic process that  stimulates fibroblasts to produce new collagen over time. 

Our clients have been thrilled with the results of the ThermiSmooth treatment. It is an excellent non-invasive way to treat fine lines and wrinkles, especially around the eyes and mouth. Often, there is immediate improvement notice by our clients who have the eye treatment. For best results a series of 3-5 treatments is recommended, spread 2-4 weeks apart. The cost will vary based on the area treated and your geographical location.

I would recommend a more targeted and effective skin tightening procedure such as Ultherapy.  We offer this as well as other radiofrequency skin tightening at our tysons corner office, however I believe, Ultherapy would be best in your situation.  You can call us at 703-740-8333 or email at mbody@drsundin.com to schedule a free consult.