Does Renuvion/J-plasma actually work? Considering a tummy tuck revision, liposuction and renuvion/j-plasma

Question

Hello. I am considering doing a procedure that involves a tummy tuck revision, liposuction and renuvion/j-plasma for skin tightening. I am a 31 year old male, with a decent amount of muscle mass, and moderate levels of body fat. I have skin that has lost elasticity and is stretchy and saggy (but not paper-thin) because of my 100 lb weight loss. Some reputable surgeons have told me that j-plasma/renuvion does not work, and many do not offer the procedure. Why? Does it work? Need guidance please.

Jason Emer, MD · Answer

renuvion + liposuction + tummy tuck can give an AMAZING result but in the right hands. this is risky. see our IG we do this daily.

my whole practice is doing lipoabdominoplasty, or at least liposuction with internal heating (which is not the gold standard for skin tightening with body contouring).

the smaller you are before liposuction the more contouring you can get from the procedure. most of my liposuction patients get pre and post surgical optimization with hormonal therapy (see link to help boost their weight loss before surgery and help them heal after).

You need a formal evaluation by an expert in body shaping and contouring to determine what is best.  Traditional liposuction awake and smart liposuction are old methods and do very poorly for tightening skin or significant skin tightening or contouring.  Small problem areas can be improved slightly by these methods.  The best in body contouring not only removes fat with energy devices like VASER ultrasound but also internally heat the skin with radio-frequency devices such as J PLASMA/RENUVION, InMode BodyTite, ThermiRF to heat the under surface of the skin and tighten it at the same time as fat removal. These combinations are called 4D HIDEF VASER contouring and can only be done by a well . trained body contouring specialist. At the same time fat should be harvested, PRP and stem cells added and injected into muscles or indentations/cellulite to get body shaping and contouring.  This is known as a Brazilian butt lift when you inject the fat to the buttock for contouring and lifting, but fat can also be used in areas such as the chest/breast, arms/shoulders, calves and face.  Cellulite should also be treated with cellfina, sculptra, subcision and/or fillers such as bellafill, renuva synthetic fat, or sculptra.  If skin is very loose before surgery then it will need to be removed such as lower abdominal skin (tummy tuck/abdominoplasty), breast skin (breast lift), arm skin (brachioplasty).  Overall you need a full assessment, but simple liposuction alone will not tighten skin and needs a combination of various methods -- fat removal, skin tightening, defining, fat grafting, skin removal -- to get the best in body contouring and body sculpting.  Dr. Emer.

Connie Hiers, MD, FACS · Answer

You did not post photos, to it is hard to be specific. With 100 pound weight loss (Congratulations on this!) you may have too much loose skin for Renuvion. Those of us who use Renuvion love it for the right patients. Sometimes the tummy tuck is the best choice.  With photos, I could give better advice.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

I purchased the device when it first came out. I used it exclusively for body work hoping to get skin tightening in conjunction with Liposuction. My practice has been devoted exclusively to Liposuction and fat transfer procedures for over a decade. I’ve been a board-certified plastic surgeon for over 20 years.  After using the device for body contouring in conjunction with Liposuction for one year my conclusion was that it delivered zero at skin tightening that could not be explained by Liposuction alone.  I could not honestly recommend adding the device and stopped promoting it during consultations.
I placed the device for sale on eBay and eventually sold it for a 50% loss on my initial investment.

Goodbye and good riddance.

I believe the device can potentially improve neck Liposuction results to sone degree.

It also has a secondary application as a facial ablative skin resurfacing device.  For that application the device definitely can deliver results and I don’t think anyone questions that.  That is a very different application than what you are referring to.  In ablative procedures the outside of the skin is burdened to generate a second degree burn for aesthetic purposes.  This is done selectively on the face and sometimes neck only.

My first hand experience using this for cases similar to what you describe what is the patient had substantially more pain during and after the procedure and saw virtually no skin tightening.  This included actually measuring distances between skin marks such as moles or skin incisions and the belly button. I followed my patients and redid measurements for objective evidence of skin tightening and again saw zero improvements.

Considering the providers who did the company sponsored training when I purchased the device I’m not surprised that the company touts the device as working.

I believe these devices will soon be available for sale on eBay for ten cents on the dollar just like laser liposuction devices are currently.  You can currently buy a Cynosure  smartLipo laser on eBay for $5000 or less.  These were at one time closer to $100,000 just like Renuvion.

If you compare that to secondhand VASER,  which is still popular because it’s a good device, a secondhand VASER will typically sell for $20,000.  Currently secondhand J Plasma devices sell for $50,000.

My prediction is that in ten years the price of a second hand J Plasma device will be around $5000 and few to none will be buying these devices new.  This is exactly what happened to The Cynosure “smartlipo” market.  Surgeons eventually figured out they don’t make any difference.

If J Plasma works there should be lots of impressive results using the device without liposuction.  There aren’t. All the J Plasma results can be explained and replicated by liposuction alone.

Like I said earlier there may be a role for this device in neck Liposuction and it definitely works for facial ablative skin treatments (used on the outside of the skin).

I’m sure there are lots of surgeons who recently purchased the  device who will disagree.  I’m sure Renuvion also dislikes my view.  I don’t care.  In my opinion this device is a scam that does not deliver anything close to what the company claims.  Take note that Renuvion has also been sued by stockholders for publishing false data.  Look it up.

I wish you would have put up pictures so we could make an assessment and given you recommendations.

Save your money.  The holy grail of skin tightening has yet to be delivered.  In reality there is no substitute to cutting out excess skin with procedures like tummy tucks, face lifts, breast lifts etc.

Opinionated yes, but my opinions also based on first hand experience regarding this device.

Best,

Mats Hagstrom, MD

Does Renuvion/J-plasma actually work? Considering a tummy tuck revision, liposuction and renuvion/j-plasma

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